From concept to context : approaches to Asian and Islamic calligraphy

t to Context

and Islamic Calligraphy

•3

■'. -^r^w-. z^'-

Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1986

From Concept to Context

Approaches to Asian and Islamic Calligraphy

by Shen Fu, Glenn D. Lowry, and Ann Yonemura

This catalogue was edited, designed, produced,
and distributed by the Smithsonian Institution
Press on the occasion of an exhibition held at the
Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D.C., July 29-Novcmber 16, 1986.

© 1986 by Smithsonian Institution. All rights
reserved.

Cover: Detail from handscroll, cat. no. 28.
Calligraphy by Hon'ami Koetsu, early
seventeenth century. The poems arc from the
Kokiti wakashft; ink, gold, and silver on paper.

Library ot Congress Cataloging-in-Publication
Data

Freer Gallery of Art.
From concept to context.

Catalog ot an exhibition to be held July 29— Nov.
16, 1986 at the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington,
D.C.

Bibliography: p.
Supt. of Docs, no.: SI 7.2:C76
I. Calligraphy, Chinese — Exhibitions. 2. Callig-
raphy, Japanese — Exhibitions. 3. Calligraphy,
Islamic — Exhibitions. I. Fu, Shen, 1937- . II.
Lowry, Glenn D. III. Yonemura, Ann, 1947- .
IV. Title.

NK3634.A2F74 1986 745.6' 199 86-45434
ISBN 0-87474-447-4

©The paper used in this publication meets the
minimum requirements ot the American Na-
tional Standard for Permanence of Paper tor
Printed Library Materials Z39. 48-1984.

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents
U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402
Stock number: 047-000-00403-9

Contents

Foreword 8

Acknowledgments lo

Introduction to Asian Calligraphy ii

Chinese Calligraphy i6

Japanese Calligraphy 62
Introduction to Islamic Calligraphy 102
Selected Bibliography with Abbreviations 150
Lists of Names and Terms 152

Chinese 152

Japanese 157

Arabic, Persian, and Turkish 160
List of Accession and Catalogue Numbers 164

This special exhibition entitled From Concept to Context: Approaches to Asian
and Islamic Calligraphy, presented by the Freer Gallery of Art, coincides with
the twenty-sixth Comite International d'Histoire de I'Arte in Washington,
D.C., August 11-17, 1986. hideed, the theme of the exhibition is closely
related to one of the major topics included for discussion at a session of this
international meeting, "The Written Word in Art and as Art."

Many of the examples of Chinese, Japanese, and Near Eastern calligra-
phy in this exhibition entered the Freer collection only recently, and a few are
being shown by the museum for the first time. Moreover, this exhibition is
the first comprehensive display of Asian and Islamic calligraphy ever installed
by the Freer Gallery.

Ann Yonemura, assistant curator of Japanese art, and Shen Fu, curator of
Chinese art, collaborated in writing the introduction to the Chinese and Japa-
nese sections of the catalogue. In addition, these same scholars provided the
essays and individual entries within their areas of expertise. Glenn D. Lowry,
curator of Near Eastern art, wrote the essay and entries for the Islamic portion
of this catalogue.

Far Eastern calligraphy is dominated by the innovations of the Chinese.
The script, developed in China during the second millennium B.C., evolved
with remarkable variety during the succeeding centuries. The historical and
cultural connotations associated with each of the traditional Chinese scripts
point to a stylistic sequence that provides guideposts for readily identifying
and dating the scripts.

The admiration for Chinese culture, the spread of Buddhism, and the
secular requirements of commerce stimulated the use of Chinese scripts
throughout Asia. What remains so remarkable about the dispersion of Chi-
nese writing is that the images and concepts, which already were tully
evolved, were even further transformed and interpreted by non-Chinese
artists into new and fresh forms that transcend their prototypes and reflect
nuances of quite separate cultural backgrounds.

In the Near East, religion and trade also were crucial forces in the evolu-
tion of Islamic calligraphy. The spread of Islam and the reverence for the
Qur'an required scribes who could imbue their writing with a heightened
aesthetic sensitivity. Arabic was also the language of trade in the dauntingly
vast expanses that stretched from the Mediterranean world in the west to the
Chinese empire in the east. A reflection of that importance can be seen on the
caches of linguistically polyglot documents f ound among the trade routes in
Central Asia. Admiration for the elegance of Arabic script in China can also
been seen on the Chinese metal and porcelain objects embellished with auspi-
cious Arabic phrases.

Each of the calligraphic examples included in this special exhibition may
be appreciated purely for its aesthetic qualities, without regard to its specific

meaning or provenance, whether Asia or the Near East — tor aesthetic subtle-
ties had quickly become, even in calligraphy 's early history, essential to criti-
cally evaluating a work. Yet, no written image or text can be appreciated in
isolation of the culture and time in which it was produced. Concentrated
in the written characters included in this exhibition are the sophisticated in-
tellectual concepts and the stylistic traditions of millennia-old civilizations.

Faced with works of Chinese, Japanese, or Near Eastern calligraphy, we
can begin by deciphering the basic meaning. But there remains to understand
the subtle allusions and complex stylistic references to the past. It is exactly
those allusions and references that are necessary to appreciate fully Asian and
Islamic calligraphy. We recognize that to achieve a deep appreciation is a
formidable task and one that can be accomplished only by learning more
about the cultures and the people of the Far and the Near East. This special
exhibition is, we hope, a modest step in the direction toward understanding.
As we understand the traditions of other civilizations, we at the same time
inevitably enrich our own.

Thomas Lawton
Director
March 1986

Foreword 9

/

Acknowledgments

Collectively, the authors would like to express their appreciation for the ex-
cellent editing and great patience of Jane McAllister and for the sensitive
design and balanced eye of Carol Beehler. Both are on the staff of the Smith-
sonian Institution Press.

Although the exhibition itself is largely a separate undertaking from the
catalogue, the authors would like to take this opportunity to thank Patrick
Sears for his exhibition design and Robert Evans, Cornell Evans, Francis
Smith, John Bradley, Martin Amt, Craig Korr, and James Smith for their
successful implementation of his concept.

As useful as word processors have become, the authors still relied heavily
on Lisa Lubey and Elsie Kronenburg-Lee for producing various drafts and
the fmal copy ot the manuscript. James Hayden and John Tsantes are to be
credited with the photographs that show Freer objects in such great detail.
The authors would also like to thank Freer librarians Ellen Nollman and Lily
Kecskes for their valuable assistance. Freer Director Thomas Lawton and
Assistant Director Richard Louie provided general guidance and steady sup-
port throughout the project.

The authors appreciate the cooperation from various institutions that
have granted permission to use their illustrations for reference in this cata-
logue. They include Musee du Louvre, Victoria and Albert Museum, Fogg
Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), Arthur M. Houghton Collec-
tion, and Staatsbibliothek fiir Preussicher Kulturbesitz (Berlin).

Dr. Lowry is grateful to Dr. Christopher Murphy ot the Library of
Congress for providing a synopsis of the firman of Sultan Ahmed, and to
Mr. Ibrahim Pourhadi of the Library of Congress and Professor Annemarie
Schimmel of Harvard University for their help in translating several of the
calligraphies in the exhibition. He also expresses his indebtedness to Dr.
Z. A. Desai, formerly with the Archeological Survey of India, for his many
insights into sixteenth-century Persian and Indian calligraphy and for his help
in translating one of the verses by Mir All, and to Muhammad Zakariya for
his calligraphy, which has been used in both the catalogue and the exhibition.

Dr. Fu wants to acknowledge his use or adaptation of Jonathan Chaves's
translations of poems by Wang Chong and Huang Shen and a couplet by Fu
Shan. Ann Yonemura is grateful to Professor Yoshiaki Shimizu for making
available his extensive curatorial research on several of the exhibited works,
and for providing readings of the poems in catalogue number 24.

10

Introduction to Asian Calligraphy

Calligraphy is regarded in China and Japan as the supreme artistic achieve-
ment, enjoying a prestige surpassed by no other art. Painting, which uses the
same basic materials of brush and ink on paper or occasionally silk, became
the sister art of calligraphy, while poetry, for its expression, is linked insepa-
rably to writing. The practice and appreciation of calligraphy written with
brush and ink are cultural values shared throughout East Asia. Undertaken
by all educated men and women as a lifelong study, calligraphy is a conspicu-
ous manifestation of cultivation and character, and is the most widely re-
spected art form.

The written language of China was the original source of the writing
systems of East Asia, and has functioned as a unifying cultural force in a
region of diverse ethnic groups and mutually unintelligible spoken languages.
The aesthetic and representational qualities of Chinese scripts and the vast
corpus of religious, literary, and scientific writings in Chinese impelled the
continued use of the language and writing system by the Koreans and the
Japanese even after the development of convenient phonetic scripts for repre-
senting the sounds of their own languages.

From the earliest appearance of writing in China, certain characteristics
of the writing system were established. Chinese is written with ideographic
characters, symbols conveying meaning with no fixed relationship to sound
as in phonetic alphabets. Many of the characters were pictographic in origin.
The earliest surviving inscriptions in Chinese contain many characters having
forms that directly suggest their meanings.

In time, the forms of the characters became more abstract and standard-
ized so that characters could be composed of individual elements that would
provide new meanings in combination. The vast expansion of possible sym-
bols resulting from such combinations of standard components resulted in
the invention of tens of thousands of characters, with several thousand re-
quired for general use. Some characters incorporate a phonetic element that is
located according to convention on the right side. Elements that express
meaning are placed to the left, top, or bottom of the character. More specific
meanings can be conveyed by the association of two or more characters to
form compound words.

The major Chinese script types are described in the table on page 12. Of
these, the scripts of greatest antiquity — those preserved m inscriptions on
oracle bones (C: jiagiiwen) and in cast inscriptions on ceremonial bronzes (C:
jitiweri or zhongdingweti) — were well adapted to being carved or incised, and
did not have a major role in the later development of scripts adapted to writ-
ing with the brush. They were not transmitted to Japan, which had no native
writing system until Chinese characters were introduced in the fifth cen-
tury A.D.

In the calligraphic art of China and Japan, five major script types may be

Introduction to Asian Calligraphy 11

distinguished, each having distinct formal and compositional characteristics
and expressive possibilities. The contrasts among the script types, both
aesthetically and in terms of their convenience for writing and reading, led to
some general functional distinctions and preferences.

Seal script (C: zlinatishu; j: tetisho), subclassified as greater seal (C: da-
zhuati, ca. eighth century B.C.) and lesser seal (C: xiaozliuaii, third century
B.C.) scripts, for example, with its lines of even width, was suitable for carved
inscriptions such as those on seals, but was also employed for contrast in
large titles. Seal script had an important historical role in gradually standard-
izing the forms of individual characters and establishing consistency in their
arrangement into vertical columns to be read from the top of each line begin-
ning at the upper right.

Clerical script (C: lishu, second century B.C.; J: reislw), the first systematic
script to be written with a brush, continued in China to be used for official

Major Chinese Script Types

Period

Chinese
Terms

Pinyin

Wade-Giles

Japanese

Variations ot

Enghsh
Translations

I3th-i ith
centuries

B.C.

luguwen

chia-ku-wcn

oracle-bone script

i3th-4th
centuries

B.C.

jinwen

zhongdiiigwen

chin-wen
chung-ting-wcn

bronze script

ca. 8th
century

B.C.

ciazhuan

ta-chuan

tensho

greater
large

seal script

3d century

B.C.

xiaozhuan

hsiao-chuan

small
lesser
standard

seal script

A.D. 2d
century

lishu

H-shu

reisho

clerical
orticial

script

since a.d.
4th century

^*
H *

caoshu

xingsliu

kaishu

ts'ao-shu
hsing-shu
k'ai-sliu

sosho

gyosho

kaisho

cursive
grass

semicursive
running

standard
regular

script
script
script

writings, and its dignified, formal quality was also appreciated in artistic
calligraphy. This script was, however, relatively little-used in Japan until the
Edo period (i6i 5-1868), when Japanese scholars specializing in Chinese
studies studied and practiced Chinese archaic scripts.

Standard or regular script (C: kaishu; ]: kaisho), fully evolved by the Sui
(581-618) and Tang (618-907) periods, became the basis for most study of
calligraphy in later times. Standard script combines clearly legible individual
strokes, each employing inner movements of the brush, into a clearly legible
form. Its pleasing, balanced proportions and consistent stroke order and
structure were practical for writing, reading, and even carving into stone tor
monumental inscriptions or on woodblocks for printing.

Semicursive script (C: xingshu; ]: gydsho), a more fluid script written
with many connected strokes, had its beginnings in innovations made in the
clerical script for efficient writing of drafts. In practice, however, semicursive
script usually reflects the structure and stroke order of standard script. It is
often used in combination with standard or cursive script.

Cursive script (C: caosliu; ]: sosho) is the simplest and most abbreviated
of Chinese scripts; it drastically reduces the number of strokes in a character
and connects many elements, often into a single continuous impulse of the
brush. The origins of cursive script actually antedate the evolution of standard
script by several centuries. Because the prescribed number and order of
strokes is altered in cursive script, both writing and reading of the script
require special study. The Japanese cursive kaiia phonetic script evolved from
the adaptation of Chinese cursive script to a strictly phonetic usage that was
separated from the individual meanings of the characters. Formally and
aesthetically, Japanese cursive kafia (J: hiragatia or sogatia) diverged from Chi-
nese cursive scripts and evolved an artistic mode of expression that had no
parallel in China.

In China and Japan, calligraphers use the same basic materials and em-
ploy similar methods of study and practice to master the art. Most calli-
graphic works are written on paper with black ink. Gold, silver, and red
(vermilion) inks are used only for special purposes; gold and silver are almost
exclusively employed in sacred scriptures such as Buddhist and Daoist sutras,
and red is used for gifts on auspicious occasions, especially in China. A few
examples ot calligraphy in other colors survive, principally in the most luxu-
rious Japanese Buddhist sutras.

Before paper was widely available in China, bamboo or wooden slips
were used tor writing, and many inscriptions accompany paintings on woven
silk. Satin became popular in China during the seventeenth century, and was
occasionally used for writing by Japanese painters of the Nanga school, who
consciously emulated the tastes of Chinese scholars. Paper made from a
variety of materials remained the dominant support for calligraphy. Whether

hitvoductioii to Asian Calligraphy 13

plain or decorated, paper provided a smooth, beautiful, and lasting surface
for the movements of the brush, absorbing the ink quickly and responding to
the most subtle variations of pressure and ink tonality. Although Chinese
calligraphers occasionally used decorated papers, the taste for writing poetry
on elaborately decorated grounds reached its most exquisite expression in
Japan, where calligraphy was often executed over an independent design.
Calligraphic inscriptions were cast into metalwork, engraved into stone or
woodblocks for printing, and in Japan, occasionally employed in the decora-
tion of ceramics.

The most important tool ot Chinese and Japanese calligraphy, the essence
of its expressive qualities, is the flexible brush (C: bi; j: fude). Made of differ-
ent materials and in sizes ranging from the long, slender brushes used for
classic Japanese katia to very large brushes virtually scrubbed across the sur-
face of the paper, the brush is capable of every nuance of expression. In the
hand of an accomplished calligrapher, the brush can produce the strictly
spaced and virtually invariant characters of Buddhist sutra texts or the fluid
and graceful forms of cursive script.

Calligraphy is, in a sense, an art of performance, requiring the mastery
of specific techniques and physical discipline before creative expression is
possible. The method of writing each stroke, the initial, internal, and terminal
movements, and the order of writing strokes within a character is prescribed,
and followed faithfully.

Calligraphic techniques assume that the writer is using his right hand, so
all horizontal strokes are written from left to right, and vertical strokes are
always begun from the top. Characters are generally begun from the left-side
or upper element, and are written successively beneath each other in vertical
columns. Horizontal inscriptions such as the titles of handscrolls, are written
from the right, where the scroll first opens, toward the left. Only recently
have some printed texts diverged from these general principles to read from
left to right in conformity with European languages.

Regular practice and repetition of the forms of characters and texts are as
essential to mastering the art of writing as are studies of techniques to per-
forming music or dance. As the writer becomes more proficient, he seeks to
advance his learning by copying texts by accomplished master calligraphers
of the past, learning by imitating and assimilating their individual styles.
In Japan, calligraphers first learned the art of writing from Chinese models,
but in later times, after the development of their own artistic kaiia script, they
could also study the classic writings of their own master calligraphers.

Once technique is mastered, the calligrapher can give expression to his
individual style, which is revealed in the composition or proportions of
characters, and in the variation of tempo and accents in the work as a whole.
Selection of the paper or silk and control of the tonal variation of the ink also

affects the overall aesthetic quality of the work.

The artistic quality of calligraphy is judged on the merits of the writing
alone, without regard to content. A superior poem does not improve a poor
calligraphic work any more than a superior musical composition improves a
poor performance. A calligraphic work is judged in the context of the nature
of the script type chosen. The standard forms of seal, clerical, and regular
script are formal and stable, emphasizing the architectural beauty of the form.
In contrast, the semicursive and cursive scripts emphasize movement and
rhythmic vitality. One script is not inherently more artistic than another, and
the same calligrapher might write outstanding calligraphy in one script but
do unexceptional work in another. Regardless of the script, a masterful calli-
graphic work reveals its inner vitality, just as an eagle, whether diving from
the air or standing motionless on a cliff, reveals its inner life.

Calligraphy is not an abstract art, but rather an art of given form. No
matter how simplified the characters, they must be sufficiently distinct to be
read as writing. Calligraphic works are appreciated for their brushwork
and composition, their style and spirit. Within their own traditions, however,
to the trained eye of a connoisseur, the sources or models for a calligrapher 's
style can be distinguished from his personal achievements.

In China and Japan, calligraphy is executed in many formats, ranging
from large inscriptions intended to be viewed in a public setting to hanging
scrolls, albums, and handscrolls for private appreciation. The vertically elon-
gated format of hanging scrolls or the long, continuous surface of horizontal
handscrolls provide a format that allows a uniquely long, uninterrupted
performance of calligraphy, limited only by the length of the text.

Within the limitations imposed by script forms, Chinese and Japanese
calligraphers have achieved in their writing an endless variety of original
variations. Through their work, we can perceive the creative achievement of
each writer within one ot the greatest and most enduring artistic traditions.

Ifitrodnction to Asian Calligraphy 15

Chinese Calligraphy

Chinese regard calligraphy as their supreme artistic achievement. It is some-
what ironic that it should be the last aspect of Chinese culture to be studied
seriously by large numbers of Western scholars. The delay in Western appre-
ciation of written Chinese characters points to the difficulties inherent in the
connoisseurship of calligraphy.

It is possible to appreciate Chinese calligraphy for its purely formal
qualities, to admire the shapes of individual characters — each a complex and
balanced unit — to perceive in the total composition each character or group
of characters as it relates to the whole, and to appreciate the brushwork that
in the hands of a master infuses the complete work with visual energy and
excitement. For a thorough appreciation of Chinese calligraphy, however, the
viewer should be able to grasp the meaning of the characters in proper con-
text; however abstract their forms, Chinese characters always retain their
inherent meaning.

There is also the complex question of cultural and stylistic nuance.
Through the centuries, calligraphic traditions and schools evolved in China.
A connoisseur is able to look at the work of a particular calligrapher, trace
the sources of his style, and at the same time recognize his unique contribu-
tions. The subtleties of stylistic and historical nuance enable calligraphers
to miply much more than they state explicitly. On occasion calligraphers
have selected well-known poems and essays, or even calligraphic styles,
because the texts' historical or political associations convey subtle implications
to an informed viewer.

Quality in calligraphy is not judged simply on the basis of the calligra-
phers ability to copy the styles of the great masters. Throughout history that
ability has marked only the beginning of a student's training. Matters of
brush control and of compositional balance have been important, to be sure.
Yet, greater emphasis has been placed on a calligrapher's ability to interpret
early styles and traditions and imbue them with personal characteristics that
result in new and exciting forms. Fundamental rules concerning stroke order,
arrangement of written columns, use of a writing brush, and the like defmed
the basic structure within which the art form developed. The greatest Chinese
masters have been immortalized because of their ability to work within the
basic structure and yet transcend the conventions that guide formal consider-
ations and to achieve a statement that is their own.

The history of calligraphy in China spans a period of more than three
thousand years. One of the most remarkable aspects of that long history
is that all of the basic script-forms were fully evolved as early as the fourth
century a.d. During the initial phase — from the Shang (ca. 1 523-1028 B.C.)
to the Six Dynasties (221-581) periods — Chinese calligraphers gradually
transformed the early pictograms into forms that could be written more
simply and quickly. The successive changes in forms, as well as in technique.

16

reflect a high degree of creativity in exploiting the flexibihty of the traditional
Chinese writing brush.

In spite of the rules governing individual script-forms, Chinese calligra-
phy has been marked by an extraordinary diversity that continues to the
present day. The diversity results, in part, from the Chinese reverence tor
past achievements. Consequently, when one script-form gave way to another
in the passage of time, the older type was not abandoned or forgotten. Rather,
the earlier script survived to become an integral part of a rich cultural legacy,
where it remained to influence or inspire students and scholars. On the basis
of their formality and ritual connotations, some archaic script-forms were
selected to serve commemorative or dedicatory functions. In the hands ot
later masters, archaic script-forms frequently emerge in a slightly transformed
guise to enjoy a revival and, ultimately, to provide yet another refinement to
China's cultural heritage.

The earliest Chinese archaic characters, jia<^nweti, appear on oracle bones
that were used for divination during the late Shang dynasty. Although differ-
ent styles are clearly recognizable, the outstanding feature of Chinese oracle-
bone inscriptions is the appearance of pointed forms that result from the
meticulous way in which the characters were tirst written and then carved
into the unyielding bone or shell. The size of the individual characters varies,
depending upon their complexity.

In bronze inscriptions (see cat. no. i), the large seal script, dazhuan,
which for a time existed simultaneously with the oracle-bone script, went
through a gradual codification during the Shang and Zhou (ca. 1027-221
B.C.) dynasties with increasing conformity in the size of the characters and
the arrangement of the columns. Regional styles in bronze inscriptions occur
throughout the Shang and Zhou periods. Uniformity was fully achieved
during the Qin dynasty (221-207 B.C.) in the small seal script, xiaozhumi (see
cat. nos. 10 and 19), which was, according to tradition, the achievement of Li
Si (died 208 B.C.).

Clerical script, lishu, which developed from small seal script, reached its
height during the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220). Written in ink on bamboo
and wooden slips (see cat. no. 2) and engraved on stone stelae (see cat. no.
18), many examples ot clerical script have been unearthed during the past few
years, thereby enriching our knowledge of the stylistic sequences. The main
differences between clerical script and the earlier monumental script-forms
are related to brushwork and structure. The even pressure and unwavering
strokes that are typical of both the large and small seal scripts were replaced
by modulated strokes, while curving forms supplanted the earlier, prevailing
emphasis on straight and angular lines. These innovations mark the beginning
of a full exploitation of the brush's potential for expressive movement and
articulated form. They also represent a major turning point in the evolution

Chinese Calligrapliy 17

of Chinese calligraphy, since clerical script led directly to the modern forms.

In their persistent search for greater fluency, Chinese calligraphers soon
replaced the exacting clerical script with a new, more pliant script-form
known as standard or regular script, kaishtd. Although the earliest form of
standard script appeared as early as the Han dynasty (206 b.c.-a.d. 220), it
was not until the Sui (581-618) and early Tang (618-907) periods that stan-
dard script was fully evolved, with portions of individual characters being
linked and the horizontal and vertical strokes subtly counterpoised (see cat.
nos. 3, 5, 6, 15, and 16). Even in the hands of a master calligrapher, the linear
precision and structural balance of this script continues to be the most de-
manding of all Chinese script-forms. For this reason, students usually begin
by practicing the work of the great Tang masters.

The new freedom and informality inherent in semicursive script, xingshu,
owe their beginnings to the innovations in clerical script. Yet, those features
should also be seen as a simplification of the contemporaneous standard
script. The structural flexibility of both semicursive and standard scripts
presented calligraphers with a potential for personal expression that was
quickly realized (see cat. nos. 4, 9, 11, 12, and 14).

Many of the formal and technical changes seen in semicursive and stan-
dard scripts are borrowed from the earliest forms of cursive script, caoshu.
Although there are differing traditional theories about the origins of cursive
script, recent archaeological evidence supports a date as early as the Qin and
Western Han (206 b.c.-a.d. 24) periods. As calligraphers evolved more prac-
tical modes of writing, they introduced many simplified forms and new
symbols that enabled them to express concepts more quickly, even eliminat-
ing some strokes altogether (see cat. nos. 7, 8, 13, and 17).

Once established, the new script-forms remained an unending source of
inspiration for later calligraphers. The creativity of the Chinese masters is
shown in their repeated ability to imbue the forms with an individuality and
freshness that are as original today as they were more than hfteen hundred
years ago. The unswerving emphasis in China upon copying traditional
models made it inevitable that the achievements of each generation would be
influenced by the contributions of the great masters of the past. Still-greater
emphasis was always placed upon the calligrapher's ability to infuse the early
styles and traditions with new, deeply personal interpretations. Thus, Chinese
calligraphers through the centuries have succeeded in developing enduring
personal styles which, in time, contribute additional details of form to a tra-
dition that has endured for almost seven thousand years.

The selection of Chinese calligraphic works included in this exhibition is
based on the theme of one of the panel discussions of the twenty-sixth Inter-
national Congress for the History of Art — "The Written Word in Art and
as Art" — which will examine the functional and artistic role of written words
as art and as they are combined with other art forms.

18

All of the Chinese writings selected are, without question, works of art
and can be appreciated as such. At the same time, when these examples of
Chinese calligraphy are examined within the broad context of China's cultural
history, each one of the nineteen works exemplifies a particular aspect of
Chinese calligraphy. The works can be grouped into three categories:

1. Functional writings, such as ceremonial bronze inscriptions (cat. no. i);
documents on wooden tablets (cat. no. 2); Buddhist (cat. no. 3) and Daoist
(cat. no. 6) sutras; and personal letters (cat. no. 12). The writers can be
described as preselected specialists in that their emphasis was on matters
other than a purely aesthetic achievement. Although there is a vast range of
quality in the calligraphy found on records and messages, the items that were
regarded as collectable by Chinese connoisseurs are always the work of tal-
ented and trained master calligraphers. There is no question, therefore, that
the overriding concerns in judging the calligraphy have been talent, creativity,
and aesthetic subtlety.

2. Inscriptions on or for paintings and calligraphy, such as frontispieces (cat.
nos. 10 and 19); texts for illustrations (cat. nos. 4 and 9); painters' self-
inscriptions (cat. no. 7); and colophons by connoisseurs or collectors (cat.
nos. 5, 8, 9, and 16). In many instances, the informative comments or ap-
praisals in the writings can be extremely important in understanding the
specific work of art. In this limited sense, the writings might be regarded as
functional. The calligraphy was, nevertheless, written either directly on the
same surface as the work of art itself, or as part of the sequence of statements
about the object by outstanding calligraphers. The circumstances, so un-
equivocally competitive, motivated Chinese calligraphers toward their finest
performances. Given the calligraphers' keen awareness of how discerning the
Chinese critics could be, it is understandable that in most cases only fully
trained calligraphers felt confident enough to write inscriptions or colophons
directly on a painting or work of calligraphy.

3. Writings as calligraphic art, such as copies of model calligraphy (cat. no.
11) or a stele inscription (cat. no. 18); and transcriptions of famous texts of
the past (cat. no. 13) or the calligrapher's own writing (cat. nos. 14-17). Since
the art of calligraphy is also the art of written characters, the form of the
script is inseparable from the meaning of the chosen characters. The specific
text may or may not have any effect on the calligrapher's mood while he or
she is writing. But when a viewer is appreciating or a critic is appraising a
work, their judgments should be made solely on the quality of the calligraphy
itself. To repeat, an exceptional poem does not increase the quality of the
calligraphy.

Although the selection for this exhibition does not cover every type of
calligraphic work in Chinese art, all the works can be classified into the three
categories outlined above.

Chinese Calligraphy 19

I Inscription on Bronze Fangyi

large seal script

anonymous historiographer

China, early Western Zhou dynasty; iith

cast bronze

height 17.5 cm (678 in); width 16 cm
30.54

Ceremonial bronze inscriptions varied
considerably in length. During the Shang
dynasty (ca. 1523-1028 B.C.) most bronze
inscriptions were short, terse records indi-
cating the name of the clan, the person who
commissioned the vessel, or the ancestor
for whom it was made. By contrast, some
Western Zhou (eleventh through eighth
centuries B.C.) bronze inscriptions are
imposing narrative compositions compris-
ing several hundred characters. These are
mainly records of ceremonial events, royal
rewards, and investitures, and accounts of
military campaigns or treaties.

Chinese bronze inscriptions, which
continued to be cast and later engraved,
span a period of more than one thousand
years. The script is rich in variety, reflecting
a long evolution constantly modified and
enlivened by regional and stylistic changes.
Although Chinese bronze inscriptions
were functional, the individual characters
and overall compositions were designed by
master historiographers; each inscription
provides a useful model for modern callig-
raphers.

This bronze inscription from a Freer
vessel contains thirteen vertical columns
plus the name (unrecognized) ot the histo-
riographer. Most ot the strokes making
up the characters have pointed beginnings
and endings. There are occasionally squar-
ish, nail-like starting points on the left for
some horizontal strokes; each resembling a
chisel, they are similar in shape to the
cuneiform script of ancient Iran.

The sharp, straight strokes and angular
corners ot the characters are idiosyncrasies
inherited from the incised oracle-bone
script. But, since bronze inscriptions were
cast, the technique imposed no ditFiculty in
preserving the round, smooth turns and
corners of the original handwritten charac-
ters. The curvilinear quality ot bronze
inscriptions became the major characteristic
of the later seal script.

This relatively early bronze inscription on
the Freer vessel displays above-average
variation in the thickness and thinness of
the strokes. Some strokes have fat tails,
whereas other strokes or characters form a
block; both the tail and the block forms
were diminished in the later development of
the seal script as the individual characters
became more uniform. Moreover, the size

to lOth century B.C.
> in)

of each character in the Freer inscription
varies.

The inscription was cast inside, under the
cover of the fangyi. A virtually identical
version of the text is cast on the interior
walls of the vessel. Though not particularly
common, the fangyi (or square yi) is a
well-known vessel type. The Freer fangyi is
famous for its long inscription and elegant,
neat calligraphy, and for the precise casting
of the decoration on the exterior of the
vessel.

Historical studies of this inscription have
been published by many eminent scholars.'
Most of the Chinese studies have been
cited and analyzed by Chen Mengjia in his
wide-ranging discussion of early Western
Zhou bronzes. -

Through the studies by Chinese, Japa-
nese, and Western historians and epigra-
phers, only about a halt-dozen characters
remain — among the total ot 188 charac-
ters'*— that have not been deciphered or for
which no modern counterpart seems to
exist. The general sense of the inscription
and the historical events described are
evident in the following excerpt:

On f/;f jiashen day in the Sth month, the King
commanded Ming Bao, son of the Duke of
Zhou, to take charge of the three Minis-
tries. . . . Duke Ming bestowed sacrificial wine,
metal and a small ox. . . . Then he gave orders
saying: "Now I command you . . . and Nie
. . . to he colleagues, and also to serve with
loyalty." The Annalist [Nic] presumes to extol
the beneficence of his Chief Duke Ming by using
[material presented by the Duke] to make
. . . a precious sacral vessel which he ventures to
beg Duke Ming to offer . . . for the glory of
Father Ding. Recorded by X."*

Although there has been a lively contro-
versy in regard to the precise dating of the
Freer vessel, it is generally agreed that the
bronze was cast within the reign of either
Cheng Wang or Zhao Wang of the early
Western Zhou dynasty. The fangyi was said
to be unearthed at Loyang in Henan Prov-
ince in 1929.^ Loyang was the site of the
new Zhou capital established soon after the
conquest. According to tradition, many of
the artisans who worked in bronze were
moved to the new Zhou capital trom the
Shang metropolitan foundries at Anyang.

fangyi, 30.54

The unusually high quality of the Freer
bronze and its inscription stylistically
reflects the outstanding achievements of the
early Western Zhou period.

1. What is probably the first discussion of the inscrip-
tion in the Freer fangyi was pubHshed by Luo Zhenyu
in 1929, the year the vessel is believed to have been
found. See "Nieyi kaoshi," Shinagakii 5, no. 3 (October
1929): 155-60. Archibald G. Wenley's discussion of
the inscription in 1946 remains the standard English
presentation of the text. See A DfSiriplii'C and Uhtstrative
Catalogue of Chinese Bronzes Acquired during the Adminis-
tration of John Ellerton Lodge, compiled by the staff of
the Freer Gallery of Art [J. E. Lodge, A. G. Wenley,

J. A. Pope). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institu-
tion, 1946), pp. 42-47.

2. Chen Mengjia, "Xi Zhou tongqi duandai," Kaogu
xuehao 10 {1955): 86-91.

3. The inscription cast on the interior walls consists of
188 characters. The inscription cast on the cover con-
sists of 187 characters.

4. This portion ot the text is based on the 1946 transla-
tion by Archibald G. Wenley. See note i above.

5. Among the bronzes said to have been unearthed to-
gether near Loyang in 1929 is a fangcun bearing the same
inscription. The fangcun is now in the collection of the
National Palace Museum, Taiwan. See Gugong tongqi
luhi I (195S): 142, and 2 (1958): 209.

References: Lothar Ledderose, Die Siegelschrifl (Chuan-
shuj in der Chi'ing-Zeit (Weisbaden: F. Steiner, 1970);
John Alexander Pope et al.. The Freer Chinese Bronzes,
vol. I (Washington, D.C.: Freer Gallery of Art, Smith-
sonian Institution, 1967), pp. 212-20.

20

Chinese Calligraphy

2 Documents on Wooden Tablets

clerical script
anonymous

China, Han dynasty; A dated 42 B.C., B-D ca. mid-ist century B.C.

four tablets; ink on wood

lengths from 18.7 to 23.5 cm {jVa to gV-t in)

Gift of John M. Crawford, Jr.

8j.4a,b,c,d

Before paper had been invented (second
century a.d.) and became widely available
in China, books, documents, and corre-
spondence were written on bamboo and
wooden tablets. Most of the writings done
for the old Chinese texts still preserved
today are of professional quality. The
quality of the script seen in the documents
written on the tablets, however, is uneven.
One reason is that the classics and miscella-
neous traditional texts were written by
trained calligraphers, whereas the vast
quantity of documents were written by
people who, though literate, had uneven
levels of artistic talent and calligraphic and
educational training. But the best writings
on bamboo and wooden tablets still serve as
models for today's students. Especially
exciting for calligraphers is the tablet's large
variety of brushwork. Such variety ap-
peared in calligraphy for the first time
during this early phase in the history of
Chinese calligraphy, and was to remain a
compelling aspect during all later periods.
The bamboo and wooden slips have pro-
vided exciting material for nineteenth- and
twentieth-century Chinese scholar-
calligraphers, whose models for earlier
generations were rubbings of carved stone
inscriptions.

The illustration of the Freer tablets
shows, from left to right, tablets D, C, B,
and A. The widest of the four tablets (A)
contains five columns of calligraphy in the
upper portion and a date corresponding
to 42 B.C. The calligraphy is written in
semicursive script with special accents on
plump horizontal and right diagonal
strokes, creating a more interesting overall
composition than is found on the other
three tablets. The script on tablet B is the
most regular and skillful, being close to the
formal writing found carved on stone
stelae of the period. The calligraphic charac-
ters on tablet C are especially loosely struc-
tured. Tablet D, which preserves the clearest
writing, is not complete; the remaining
strokes along both of its edges suggest that
it originally must have been a much wider
tablet. Only tablet D bears writing on
the reverse side.

The different widths of the tablets and the
variations in the scripts as well as in the
hands, suggest that the four tablets do not
constitute a single group and may vary in

Fig. I. A group ot Han-dynasty wooden tablets
bound with hemp threads in the traditional
manner. Academia Sinica, Taipei.

date. The three undated tablets (B,C,D),
however, may also be stylistically dated
around the mid-first century B.C.

Bamboo tablets dating from the Warring
States (480-222 B.C.) and the Qin (221-
207 B.C.) periods have been discovered
mainly in southern China along the Yangzi
River. Wooden tablets dating from the
Han dynasty (206 B.C. -a.d. 220) or later
(see fig. i) have been unearthed almost
exclusively from the northwestern regions
of China. The geographic distribution of
the tablets is based on the easy availability
of bamboo or wood from the different
regions.

The largest single collection and major
group of wooden tablets was unearthed in
1930 in the Juyen region, located northwest
of Dunhuang, Gansu Province, in a city
established around 104 B.C. A large number
of those tablets are dated between 102 B.C.
and A.D. 30. The texts consist primarily
of official dispatches to garrisons in the
frontier outposts, documents and registers,
letters, and the like.'

According to the inscription by the
connoisseur-collector Zhang Hcng {zi
Congyu, 191 4-1963), written inside the box

for this set of tablets, the Freer tablets are
from Juyen. Although there is no way to
prove Zhang Heng's statement, comparison
of the Freer tablets with the large quantity
from Juyen reveals that their characteristics
are remarkably similar, both physically
and calligraphically. The quality of the
calligraphy on the four Freer tablets is
considerably above average, with the char-
acters on tablet B being exceptional.

I. Lao Gin, Jiiyan Haiijien kaoshi, 6 vols. (Chungking,
1943-44)-

References: Ezekiel Schloss, Art of the Han (New York:
China Institute in America, 1979), p. 24; Tseng 1971,
entry 6.

22

Chinese Calligraphy 23

3 The Buddhist Sutra of the Great Demise (The Mahaparinirvana Sutra)

standard script
anonymous

China, Sui dynasty (581-618)
handscroll; ink on paper

height 21. 1 cm (8yi6 in); length 380.6 cm {li^gVn in)
82.2

I

,1

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.3 -f^ ■^M ir\

nA^ .-^y <^ -«> jiS

h"- ^ i3< f ^
/*» ^ ^ ^ X.

<m -ih ^' Mr *i>

as ^ ^ ^ * -

/-^ -i. M ftL f *

/[i -i- f

ft ^ ^

ft

> V
-»-

it

s

JL ff»

11

X. Jt i.

Kj t j

-fa, It

!:i ■hi

^

^ 5J< ^

t& #

■>r '*jf
i»r <*» Jr

4V

-t fl.'v Ife
<'l --fl

ta —

I- J- - k

«\ %

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Fig. 2. Partially unrolled sutra scroll trom the Tang dynasty. Private collection

Both Buddhist and Daoist sutras were held
by believers when they chanted or recited
during religious ceremonies or individual
contemplations. While the sutras are re-
garded as functional writings, those ex-
amples that were particularly well written
were always preferred by educated Chinese
monks and laypeople.

When Buddhist sutras were translated
from the original Sanskrit into Chinese, the
sacred texts were usually transcribed by
anonymous professional calligraphers.
Nonetheless, most of the Chinese Buddhist
sutras dating from the Tang dynasty (618-
907) or earlier are extremely well written.
Their calligraphy is highly professional and
polished.

Figure 2 shows a partially unrolled section
of a typically long horizontal sutra scroll.
Here and in the Freer scroll of The Biiddist
Sutra of the Great Demise, the individual
characters are precisely written within
vertical grid lines. Using a sharp and resil-
ient brush, the calhgrapher of the Freer
scroll applied full energy and concentration
in writing each stroke and composing
each character. Although the sutra is in
standard script, the individual characters are
not written mechanically. There are varia-
tions in the pressure of the brush, in the
speed with which the calligrapher wrote,
and in the size and form of the characters.
The square corners of the characters are
structurally sturdy, and the round turns are
smooth and springy. The left diagonals
sweep like swords; those moving toward
the right are as sturdy as heavy blades; the
verticals are as straight' and strong as pillars.
Yet, all of the strokes are vividly written;
each one has its own rhythm. Every charac-
ter is a distinct composition, possessing its
own manner and gravity. In addition, the
special relationships between the characters
enrich the total aesthetic effect. These subtle
nuances constitute the major difference
between a well-written sutra and a standard
printed version.

Since most sutra scrolls were written by
anonymous professional calligraphers, those
that bear signed names are relatively absent
from calligraphic history. But advanced
sutra transcribers were just as competent as
recognized calligraphers, and some were
technically more skillful. Their competence
was recognized by famous Chinese calligra-
phers of the later periods who realized how
difficult it was to achieve such technical

perfection, especially when they themselves
failed to imitate successfully the sutra styles.

On the other hand, most of the profes-
sional Chinese calligraphers who transcribed
sutras may have been more conservative
and less artistic than the recognized calligra-
phers. The transcribers, who could have
been either learned monks or lay intellec-
tuals, were commissioned by Buddhist
parishioners, whose aim was to donate the
sutras to temples.

The Buddhist Sutra of the Great Demise is
commonly called The Mahaparinirvana
Sutra. It preserves the words said to have
been delivered by the Buddha Sakyamuni
just before his death. The sutra was trans-
lated into Chinese by Chinese monks
during the fourth century. As is the case
with most handwritten sutras, this scroll
was neither signed nor dated. Consequently,
the only means of dating the work is
through stylistic comparison to dated
scrolls of the same category. In general, the
Freer sutra corresponds to those examples
from the period between the late Sui and
early Tang dynasties, roughly falling into
the first half of the seventh century.

At the beginning of the Freer scroll a
collector's seal indicates that a Mr. Xu
Chunfu obtained the sutra while he was
traveling to Gansu Province. At the turn of
the twentieth century, a great number of
sutra scrolls were discovered by a Chinese
monk at Dunhuang in a cave that had been
sealed since the mid-clcventh century.
The English scholar Sir Aurel Stein obtained
a large portion of the material from the

cave and brought it to the attention of
specialists throughout the world. Many of
the Dunhuang scrolls are now preserved in
the British Museum in London, the Biblio-
thequc Nationale in Paris, and the National
Library in Peking. The Freer sutra is one of
the scrolls that must have come from the
cave at Dunhuang and then circulated in
private hands. Although it has been almost
thirteen centuries since the scroll was
written, the paper is still in impressive
condition, because it had been treated with
a yellowish liquid prepared from the seeds
and bark of the Amur cork tree for protec-
tion against damage by insects. The scroll is
not in its original unmounted format. At
some time in its recent history, the sutra
was mounted as a traditional Chinese scroll,
with a silk border and backing paper.

The Freer scroll is one of the best-written
sutras of its kind. It enables us to visualize
the calligraphic style of a period from
which there are otherwise so few extant
original handwritten works by great mas-
ters.

References: Roderick Whittield, The Art of Central
Asia: The Stein Collection in the British Museum, 3 vols.
(Tokyo, 1982-84); 14, 1}, Baiwieres et peintures de Touen-
houang conservees aus Musee Guimet, 2 vols. (Paris,
1974, 1976); Mission Paul Pelliot 1 j, Tissus de Touen-
houaug conserves au Musee Guimet et a la Bihliotheque
Nationale (Paris, 1970); Lionel Giles, Descriptive
Catalogue of the Chinese Manuscripts from Tunhuang in the
British Museum (London, 1957); Xie Zhiliu, Dunhuang
yishu xulu (Shanghai, 1955); Matsumoto Eiichi,
Tonkoga no kenkyii, 2 vols. (Tokyo, 1937); Paul Pelliot,
Les Grotles de Touen-houang (Paris, 1921-24).

^ ^ ^ n — ,

1-4 ^j-^Ci^f I

detail

Chinese CalUgrciphy 25

4 ''Returning to Seclusion," A Prose-Poem by Tao Qian

semicursivc script

calligraphy by Li Peng (ca. io6o-ca. mo)
China, Song dynasty; inscription dated mo
handscroll; ink on silk

height 37 cm (i4yi6 in); length 518.5 cm (204^16 in)
19119

This Freer handscroll is an outstanding
example of a calligraphic transcription of an
early text made to accompany an illustra-
tion. One of the earliest and most famous
examples of this format combining caUigra-
phy and painting is the "Admonitions of
the Court Instructress" attributed to Gu
Kaizhi (341-402), now in the British Mu-
seum. On some scrolls of this type, the
painting and calligraphy are by the same
artist; on other examples, the work of two
artists is combined. In the case of "Return-
ing to Seclusion," an early twelth-century
artist working in the style of Li Gonglin
(1049-1106) painted the individual sections
to illustrate the well-known prose-poem
by the poet Tao Qian (365-427).

The anonymous artist painted the main
scene from each passage, leaving a space
between each scene for the transcription of
the text. Li Peng later transcribed the
appropriate passages from the prose-poem.
The alternation between calligraphy and
illustration not only creates an interesting
momentum and frame, but also allows for
the figure of the poet to appear repeatedly
in different settings. At the end (far left) of
the Freer scroll, Li Peng also added a
postinscription in which he recorded his
appreciation of the painting, and the cir-
cumstances, the date, and the name ot the
person for whom he had written the in-
scription.

Passages of Li's calligraphy in different
lengths enframe the painted sections. The
calligraphy of the main text is written in
semistandard script, whereas the ten-line
postinscription is in semicursive script. The
brushwork is relatively plump and the
structure of the characters is elongated and
graceful. Li Peng modulated the pressure on
his brush within a single stroke. He grace-

fully raised the brush tip and then pressed it
down from time to time so that the gentle
strokes vary from thin to thick, and vice
versa. The plump strokes remind us of the
brushwork of Su Shi (1036-1101), but
the structure of the characters recalls the
calligraphy of Mi Fu (1053-1 107).'

The text is one of the most famous prose-
poems composed by the great poet Tao
Qian of the Eastern Jin dynasty (317-420).
In the year 406, after serving as magistrate
of Pengze in Jiangxi Province for eighty
days, Tao Qian retired from public office
because he did not want to submit to the
orders of his superior officer, whom he did
not respect. He then returned home. This
prose-poem is a moving record of Tao
Qian s thoughts and emotions on his return,
his sense of release from the petty frustra-
tions of official life, and the joys of the
pastoral life ot the cultivated scholar-recluse.
Beloved by every literate Chinese, the
poem has been used by innumerable paint-
ers and calligraphers throughout the suc-
ceeding centuries. -

Excerpts from Tao Qian's prose-poem
provide a glimpse of his sensibility:

Homewards I bend my steps,

My fields, my (gardens are choked with weeds:

should I not go? . . .
I will devote my energies to the future. . . .
Lightly, lightly, speeds my boat along,
My garments fluttering to the gentle breeze. . . .
From afar I descry my old home, and joyfully

press onwards in my haste.
The servants rush forth to meet me,
My children cluster at the gate.
The place is a wilderness; but there is the old

pine tree, and my chrysanthemums. . . .
Wine is brought in full bottles,
I pour out in brimmitig cups. . . .

I take my pleasure in my garden.
There is a gate, but it is rarely opened. . . .
Cheering my idle hours with lute and book. . . .
Wlien springtime is nigh, there will be work in

the furrowed fields. . . .
Ah, how short a time it is that we are here!
Why then not set our hearts at rest, ceasing to

trouble whether we remain or go? . . .
I will mount the hill and sing my song,
I will weave my verse beside the limpid brook.
Thus will I work out my allotted span, content

with the appointments oj Fate,
My spirit free from care.^

The calligrapher Li Peng, also known as
Li Shanglao, was a native of Jiangxi Prov-
ince. He was the grandson of Li Chang
(1027-1090), who was the uncle of the
leading Song-dynasty calligrapher-poet
Huang Tingjian (1050-mo). It was natural,
therefore, that in poetry Li Peng was a
member of the Jiangxi school, which was
led by Huang Tingjian. According to
Li's own statement, his calligraphic models
were Wang Xizhi (ca. 303-ca. 361), Yen
Zhenqing (709-785), Liu Gongquan (778-
865), and Yang Ningshi (873-954). Li Peng
gained fame as a calligrapher, and his works
were treasured by contemporary collectors.
His extant works are rare, and the inscrip-
tions, dated 1 1 10, on the Freer scroll pro-
vide an important dated calligraphic work
of the late Northern Song period (960-
1127).

1. See Ledderose 1979.

2. Lawton 1973, pp. 38-41.

3. Herbert A. Giles, Gems of Chinese Literature (London:
Kelley and Walsh, 1923), pp. 103-4. Reprint. New
York: Paragon Book Reprint Corp., 1965.

Reference: Fu and Nakata 1981-83, vol. I, pis. 80-83,
p. 143.

26

Chinese Calligraphy 27

5 Colophon to Wang Xienzhi's "Epitaph for My Wet-Nurse

standard script

by Guo Tienxi (ca. 1235-ca. 1302)
China, Yuan dynasty; dated 1292
handscroll; ink on paper

height 30 cm (ii'yih in); length 39.3 cm (i5'/2 in)
80.7

Wang Xienzhi (344-386) and his father,
Wang Xizhi (ca. 303-ca. 361), known as the
"two Wangs," are traditionally regarded as
the founders of the orthodox school of
Chinese calligraphy. The two men have
exerted greater influence on the history of
Chinese calligraphy than have any other
masters. Their exalted status is all the more
remarkable considering that no original
examples of their works are extant. All that
is known of their calligraphy is based on
rubbings made from stone stelae and from
copies made by later masters. Consequently,
there are varying opinions regarding the
authenticity of all the works attributed to
Wang Xienzhi and his father.'

The Baomuzhi, or epitaph written by
Wang Xienzhi for the woman who had been
his wet-nurse, was carved on the funerary
tablet placed in the woman's tomb. Accord-
ing to the text, the wet-nurse, Miss Li Yiru,
was unusual in that she excelled in compos-
ing essays and wrote cursive script. Wang
Xienzhi wrote the epitaph for her in a.d.
379, when he was about thirty-five years
old.

When the funerary tablet was accidentally
unearthed in Zhejiang Province in 1203, it
became the subject of great discussion in
scholarly circles. Opinions varied as to
whether it was a genuine work or whether
it was from the hand of a later calligrapher.

The rubbing of the "Epitaph," mounted
at the beginning (far right) of the Freer
handscroll, is the only surviving version of
the Baomuzhi. The colophons (see discus-
sion, cat. no. 8) by some ot China's most
famous collectors add to its importance.
The colophon by Guo Tienxi, mounted on
the left of the handscroll, is one of the
examples that was highly regarded by later
connoisseurs and collectors even though it
is not an impressive piece of calligraphy.

The colophon's semistandard script, squat
in its structure, was written without haste.
In beginning the horizontal brush strokes,
Guo Tienxi has revealed the sharp tip of his
brush; he has also completely accented the
endings of his strokes. Only an occasional
emphatic hook detracts from the brush-
work. The columns of calligraphy arc
spacious and neat.

Guo Tienxi's fame is based upon his
accomplishments as a collector and connois-
seur of ancient calligraphic works. His
colophon on the Freer handscroll is impor-

tant for its content. Guo states that in
1289 he acquired the rubbing of "Epitaph
for My Wet-Nurse" from the great calhgra-
pher Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322; see cat.
no. 6), whose transcription of the Baomuzhi
and colophon (dated 1309) appear on the
handscroll. When Guo Tienxi visited Hang-
zhou, he compared the rubbing to other
versions. Although the rubbing he obtained
from Zhao Mengfu was different from the
other versions, it was difficult for Guo to
dispute its authenticity, since no original
examples of Wang Xienzhi's calligraphy
were extant. Guo Tienxi loved the charac-
ters in this work and copied them for three
years, but not a single character resembled
that of his model. It is said that he sighed in
resignation, realizing that it was truly
difficult to reach the realm of the ancient
masters. Guo Tienxi dated his colophon in
1292, after adding a poem in seven-character
meter:

The treasured Laming preface [originally
written by Wang Xizhi] was engraved on a
jade stone,

Accordingly it was based on the original and

copied by Ouyang Xun.
But the problem of original and forgery remained

until now.

How can it be compared with this work which
was personally written and engraved by Wang
[Xienzhi]!

The "Epitaph for My Wet-Nurse" was directly
transmitted from more than eight hundred
years ago.

The brushwork 0/ [Wang] Xienzhi is very

similar to that 0/ [his father, Wang] Xizhi.
The chipped and broken stele left us some

hundred characters,
It should be respectfully taken as the teacher by

Oil [-yang Xun] and Yen [Zhcnqing] for a

thousand generations.

In Guo Tienxi's colophon, he records the
date and origin of the rubbing. He also
describes his comparative study of the other
versions and of Wang Xizhi's Lanting
preface (see cat. no. 11), and he presents his
own evaluation of the work. The text is
composed in both prose and poem form. In
its scope and content Guo Tienxi's inscrip-
tion represents a typical colophon by a
scholar-collcctor-connoisseur.

Guo Tienxi was a native of Datong in
Shanxi Province, but he held an official post

Song-dynasty rubbing ot "Epitaph tor My Wet-
Nurse"; ink on paper

at Zhenjiang in Jiangsu Province. He had
close contacts, therefore, with the circle of
collector-connoisseurs in thejiangnan
region. Aside from Zhao Mengfu, who
lived nearby and with whom Guo Tienxi
could exchange collections, he knew the
renowned connoisseur Zhou Mi (1232-
1298), who recorded some of Guo's collec-
tions in his extant texts.- Guo's colophons
mainly appear on important calligraphic
works of the Tang (618-907) and Song
(960-1279) periods.

1. The most recent discussion of Wang Xizhi's calhgra-
phy was prompted by the pubHcation of an article by
Guo Moruo, "Yu Wang Zie mu zhide chutu lundao
Lanting ,xu dejenwei," Wcnwu, no. 6 (1965): 1-24. So
many differing points ot view were forthcoming

that most of the pertment writings were assembled in a
special publication, Laiilim; lunhien, Peking, 1973.

2. Zhou Mi, YuHYati g^uoyaii hi, :hiiaii ihatit;, pp. 46-49,
Yishu zongbien edition.

References: Fu and Nakata 1981-83, vol. i, pi. 10, pp.
131-33; Fu 1977; Shodd '^cijitsu, WiingXiji, IVaii)^ Xienzhi
(Tokyo, 1976); O Gi5/;i (Tokyo, 1974); Nakata Yujiro,
O Gishi 0 chiisin to suru hojd no kenkyu (Tokyo, 1970);
Gugongfashu, vol. 5 (Taipei, 1962); Dungjiii (i960),
vol. 4 of Shodo zenshil.

28

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Chinese Calligraphy 29

6 The Daoist Sutra of Constant Purity and Tranquility

small standard script
by Zhao Mcngfu (1254-13 22)
China, Yuan dynasty; ca. 1292
handscroll; ink on silk

height 29 cm {11V2 in); length 58 cm (22ys in)
80.8a

At its inception, the native Chinese religion
of Daoism was the mam belief among
intellectuals. Many of the Daoist sutras
were transcribed by scholar-believers who
were also outstanding calligraphers. The
tradition of transcribing the sutras continued
in this manner through the Qing dynasty
(1644-1911).

When a devout scholar-calligrapher
transcribed a sutra, he used the text itself as
a source of contemplation. The calligraphers
were not transcribing the texts purely for
money, nor were they writing them solely
for their religious content, to be appreciated
by ordinary believers. Rather, they intended
the precisely written sutras to be gifts for
their peers. Both the calligraphers and the
recipients considered the transcribing of
Daoist sutras to be a rigorous artistic exer-
cise and an expression of the calligraphers
appreciation of calligraphy as art.

Written in small standard script, the
characters in this Daoist sutra have a calm
and gentle appearance. The brush strokes
are soft yet elastic, steady yet lively. The
thin tips of the strokes reveal all ot Zhao
Mengfu's brush movements. The structure
of the characters is broad, and each character
generally has a base wider than its top.
Zhao maintained generous spacing between
the characters regardless of their placement
within an individual column. Consequently,
the total impression from this short hand-
scroll is that it is airy, calm, and restful.
Although the small standard script may not
appear impressive at first glance, writing
such characters is technically demanding,
and examples of this type of calligraphy are
highly prized by discriminating Chinese
connoisseurs.

The sharp but soft brush tip and the thin
and neat strokes evoke a clean and pure
atmosphere in the mind of the viewer. The
qualities of the calligraphy are very much in
harmony with the content of the text. The
Daoist Sutra of Constant Purity and Tranquility.
The sutra is traditionally believed to have
been transmitted orally for many genera-
tions from the mythical Daoist sage Laozi
(act. sixth century B.C.) and to have been
first transcribed by Gc Xuan during the Wu
dynasty (222-80) of the Three Kingdoms
period (220-65).

The text of the sutra expresses the idea
that if one can constantly rid oneself of
desire, the heart (mind) will be naturally
tranquil; once the heart (mind) is clear, the
spirit will naturally be purified. Further,
one way to achieve the purified state is not
to fight or contend. One who is enlightened
(by this teaching) will reach the realm of
constant purity and tranquility and will be
protected by various sages and avoid ca-
lamity.

The signature at the end of the sutra is
"Suijinggong daoren" (The Daoist of
the Palace of Dragon King), a sobriquet of
the famous scholar-official-calligraphcr-
painter Zhao Mengfu.

Born in Wuxing in Zhejiang Province,
Zhao Mengfu was a descendant of the Song
imperial family. He is also known by the
names Ziang and Songxue. Between 1286
and 1295, Zhao Mengfu served the new
Mongol rulers in the Hanlin Academy, and
during his stay in the north was exposed
to the great tradition of early calligraphy
and to the painting of the Tang (618-907)
and Northern Song (960-1127) dynasties.
Alter developing his synthesis of past styles,
Zhao advocated the influential movement
called "revival of the past," which domi-
nated all calligraphy and painting of the
Yuan dynasty (1279-1368).

Zhao excelled in every script type. Al-
though his semicursive and standard scripts
are the most famous of his works, his
contemporaries praised his small standard
script as his best. The calligraphy in the
Freer collection is not dated by the artist; it
belongs stylistically to his early work, in
the period around 1292, before he had
established his own distinctly personal style.

Zhao wrote the sutra on silk instead of
on paper, the more common writing mate-
rial in China after the fourth century. He
chose silk for this ancient sutra to give it an
antique appearance. Although Zhao Mengfu
was probably under forty when he created
the sutra, the perfection he achieved by
diligent practice was already difficult to
equal. Moreover, the charm of the sutra,
which one senses in its tenderness and
freshness, is missing in most of his later
works, and thus makes this scroll even
more admirable.

References: Toyama Gunji, Zhang Jizhi, Zhao Mengfu
in Shodd geijitsii, vol. 7; Chu-tsing Li, "The Freer Sheep
and Goat and Chao Meng-fu's Horse Paintings,"
Artibus Asiae 30, no. 4 (1968): 279-326; Chu-tsing Li,
The Autumn Colors on the Ch'iao and Hua Mountains: A
Landscape by Chao Meng-fu (Ascona: Artibus Asiae
Publishers, 1965).

detail showing Zhao Mengfu's signature and
seals

detail

30

7 Songs of Fishermen

cursive script

painting and calligraphy by Wu Zhen (1280-13 54)
China, Yuan dynasty; inscription dated 1352
handscroll; ink on paper

height 32.5 cm (i2'yi6 in); length 562.2 cm. (22iy8 in)
37-12

This long handscroll depicts lake scenery
with a series of fishing boats, each of which
contains a solitary figure. Wu Zhen in-
scribed a poem next to each fisherman and
wrote one long colophon at the end of
the scroll.

All of the calligraphy is small-size cursive
script, with some occasional running
(semicursive) script. Not many characters
are linked together. Some of Wu Zhen's
brush method is derived from the cursive
script called zhaiigcao, based on the earlier
clerical script, which was popular during
the late Yuan period (1271-1368).

Wu Zhen generally tollowed the calli-
graphic style of the Tang master Huaisu (ca.
735-800), but he occasionally alternated
characters written in heavy and thick brush
strokes with those composed ot light and
thin strokes. In this way, he created a special
rhythm and style of his own. Aside from
Wu's achievements as a cursive calligrapher,
his fame rests mainly on his accomplish-
ments as one of the tour great master
painters of the late Yuan period. The other
three masters were Huang Gongwang
(1269-13 54), Ni Zan (i 301-13 74), and
Wang Meng (ca. 1301-1385). Wu exerted
great influence on later artists, especially
those of the Ming dynasty (i 368-1644).

An inscription made by an artist on his
own work is the more significant statement
compared to an inscription added by an-
other calligrapher. This type of self-inscrip-
tion usually constitutes a more intimate
and informative portion of a scroll.

The tradition of adding long inscriptions
became popular among fourteenth-century
Chinese scholar-painters, who also excelled
in calligraphy. The inscriptions usually are
composed in prose or poetic form although
on occasion both forms are combined. Wu
Zhen's self-inscription on his Fishermen
scroll is an example that includes both prose
and poetry.

Wu Zhen, a native ofjiaxing, Zhejiang

Province, never served the Mongol govern-
ment in an official capacity. He made his
living first as a Daoist diviner and later as a
literatus painter. Because he insisted upon
maintaining his own standards in painting,
he remained unpopular during his lifetime.

Although it is important to have poems
and self-inscriptions as integral parts of a
scroll, the quality of their calligraphy can
either enhance or detract from the total
aesthetic response. Consequently, only the
most outstanding Chinese scholar-paintcr-
calligraphers had the confidence to add
inscriptions directly onto their paintings.

According to Wu s inscription, dated in
1352, on the Freer scroll, he painted the
composition ten years earlier than the
inscription. The painting was inspired by a
version of the same theme in Tang style
by the tenth-century painter Jing Hao.
Colophons on another version of the Fisher-
men scroll by Wu Zhen, in the collection of
the Shanghai Museum, inform us that the
composition was inspired by the eighth-
century Tang Daoist poet-recluse-painter
Zhang Zhiho, who is credited with having
initiated Soni^s of Fishermen. Statements in
both the Freer and the Shanghai colophons
tell us that Wu Zhen composed the poems
on the Freer scroll in the style of Zhang
Zhiho.

Examination of the Freer painting reveals
that among the fifteen fishermen, only three
or four are seriously fishing. Most of the
"fishermen" wear official hats, a symbol
that they are actually fugitive bureaucrats.
They are recluses who want only to be left
alone; they seldom fish but instead drift
along, enjoying the scenery or just napping.
The poems written alongside the fishermen
further reinforce this interpretation. A few
examples, such as a poem written above a
boat moored under the shade of a large tree,
clearly express the prevailing mood. The
poem may be translated as follows:

The mountains are brightened by the reflection

from the sunset clouds,
The sky became cloudy or clear depending on the

appearance or disappearance of the clouds,
The wind blew, the waves rose;
Listening to the sound oj rain in the night under

the empty straw covering.

Another poem, on the left of the one just
quoted, appears above the fisherman who
is throwing out his fishing line:

For no reasons tliat [I] fish at the middle of the
lake,

The fish is big, the boat is too light to stand it,
Worrying about turning over, tie the fish, the

boat moving up and down.
Everything should touch lightly and not get

involved too deeply.

A final poem is written at the end of the
lake scene:

Wlien the waves oj the five lakes float with the
petals of peach blossoms, it is the time of
spring.

My small boat floats as a leaf blown by the wind

to ten thousand miles away.
The fish line is too fine, the fragrant bait is

gone.

Ah! originally he is not a fisherman at all!

Through the poems, we understand that
Wu Zhen obviously was not trying solely
to paint a portrait of the fisherman. His aim
was to state that he was not a professional
painter but was using poetry and painting as
a form of refuge.

References: Fu and Nakata 1981-83, vol. 3, color plate
I, pis. 25-28, pp. 146-48; James F. Cahill, Hills
Beyond a River: Chinese Painting of the Yuan Dynasty,
i27g-i}68 (New York and Tokyo: Weatherhill, 1976);
James F. Cahill, "Wu Chen, A Chinese Landscapist and
Bamboo Painter of the Fourteenth Century" (Ph.D.
diss., University of Michigan, 1958).

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Chinese Calligraphy 33

8 Colophon to a Daoist Sutra by Zhao Mengfu

cursive script

by Kangli Naonao (1295-1345)
China, Yuan dynasty; dated 1344
handscroll; ink on paper

height 29 cm {iiVu^ in); length 52.5 cm (2o"/i6 in)
80.8b

Although the text of this scroll is a Daoist
sutra, it was calligraphed by Zhao Mengfu
(1254-1322), an extraordinary calligrapher,
and was thus ensured of being treated as a
major work of art. Certainly this was the
expectation expressed by the colophon
writer Kangli Naonao, who was also a
renowned calligrapher.

Kangli was a younger contemporary of
Zhao's. After he had established his own
reputation as a great calligrapher, he was
asked to write a colophon on this scroll
written by Zhao Mengfu, a person with
whom Kangli shared fame and influence.
Because he was the younger master, Kangli
tried his best to compose and write the
colophon in such a way that it could coexist
side by side with the calligraphy of Zhao
Mengfu and be compared favorably with it
by generation after generation of critics.
There is no doubt that Kangli Naonao
wrote the colophon in the hope that it
would be judged as a major example of his
calligraphy.

A colophon is an inscription placed at the
end of a book or manuscript, usually pro-
viding facts related to the content of the
specific work. On Chinese handscrolls and

detail showing Kangli Naonao's signature and
seals

album leaves, colophons usually follow
the painting or calligraphy and the artist's
self-inscription. The content of the colo-
phons ranges from comments relating to art
appreciation, interpretation, art criticism,
and provenance to the work's actual mone-
tary value. The literary style of the colo-
phons can vary, generally falling into the
two large categories of prose and poetry.

Colophon writers have been contempora-
ries of the artist or calligrapher, as well as
artists, scholars, connoisseurs, and collec-
tors of later generations. Many early Chi-
nese colophon writers were connoisseur-
collectors, knowledgeable art lovers, and
amateur artists. This particular colophon
was written by an outstanding connoisseur-
collector.

This colophon in tourteen lines was
written in cursive script, interspersed with
some characters in running (semicursive)
script. With a single exception, in which
two characters are linked together, all of the
characters are written separately. Together
with some of the characteristic knifelike,
right-diagonal strokes, the work displays a
type of cursive script, zhan(^cao, which
was developed earlier than the regular
cursive script.

The brushwork is clean, precise, and
elegant, yet energetic. The curving strokes
are smooth and flexible. In writing the
characters, Kangli Naonao alternated be-
tween thin and thick strokes and shifted
rhythmically from light to heavy. The
structure of the characters is tight and
narrow with a strong, right, upward slant.

In the first three columns, Kangli started
slowly, using smooth semicursive script;
then he increased his tempo and wrote in a
more cursive style for the major portion
of the colophon. When Kangli Naonao had
completed the colophon, he returned to a
slower tempo and added the date and his
signature.

Kangli lived a generation later than Zhao
Mengfu; in the colophon, he expresses his
admiration for the older master, who had
died in 1322, twenty-two years earlier. His
colophon may be rendered as follows:

Mr. Zhao Wenmin [Mengfu] liked to write
Daoist sutras which were scattered among many
famous [temples in] mountains. This is one of
them. Amoiii^ the extant works by the master
Wang Xizhi [ca. 303-ca. 361], only the

Huangting sutra is the best. Now I looked at the
Sutra of Constant Purity and Tranquility
written by Mr. Zhao, which is as airy as though
being transformed into an immortal floating
above the clouds. The senior [master, Zhao
Mengfu] praised the brushwork of Wang
Xizhi's Daoist sutra as refined and marvelous
and meant for the divine class. It was really the
same idea [in this work by Zhao Mengfu].
On the sixteenth day of the fifth month of
the fourth year [1344] in the Zhizheng era
[1341-68]. Written at the West pavilion of the
mansion of the Duke Henan by Kangli Nao.

Kangli Nao (also known as Kangli
Naonao and Kangli Zishan) was a high
official of the Mongol government. During
the Tianli period (1328-30) he supervised
the imperial collection of painting and
calligraphy. Kangli was also the tutor of the
young Emperor Shundi (ruled 1341-67).
Although he was a descendant of the Central
Asia Kangli tribe from the northern shore
of the Aral Sea in southern Russia, Kangli
Naonao was well trained in Chinese history
and the Chinese classics. Like many Mon-
gols during the Yuan period (1279-1368),
he was deeply influenced by Chinese culture
and became a traditional Confucianist.

In calligraphy Kangli Naonao gained
special fame for his cursive script. The
anecdote told by his contemporaries is that
upon hearing that the great master Zhao
Mengfu could write ten thousand characters
per day, Kangli replied that he habitually
wrote thirty thousand per day. Whether or
not the story is an exaggeration, it is a
testament to Kangli's diligence and speed,
which are two of his outstanding traits.
During Kangli's later years, his fame as a
calhgraphcr was as great as Zhao Mengfu 's,
and the two men were frequently referred
to by later contemporaries as "Zhao from
the South" and "Kangli from the North."
This colophon and the text that precedes it
provide, therefore, a rare combination of
calligraphy by these two outstanding mas-
ters.

References: Fu and Nakata 1981-83, vol. 3, pis. 16 and
17, pp. 137-38; Fu 1977.

34

Chinese Calligraphy 35

9 Colophon to the Painting "A Breath of Spring" by Zou Fulei

semicursive script

by Yang Weizhen (1296-1370)

China, Yuan dynasty; inscription dated 1361

handscroll; ink on paper

height 35.8 cm {14VS in); length 329 cm (i 29^/2 in)
31. 1

Yang Weizhen, a renowned scholar-poet and
calligrapher, was a close friend of the Daoist
painter Zou Fulei. Yang was inspired by
Zou's painting of a plum branch, and few of
his other calligraphic works match the
quality of his colophon on the Freer hand-
scroll. Yang's untrammeled and unrestrained
colophon is well suited to Zou's powerful
painting. His poem and postinscription
praise Zou Fulei and Zou's brother, and
records his meeting with them. The colo-
phon supplies the only firsthand material
concerning Zou Fulei, for whom biographi-
cal details would otherwise be lost.

The size of the characters in the colophon
varies, and the number of characters within
each column varies from one to four. Yang
Weizhen also varied his brush strokes, trom
exceptionally thin to exceptionally broad,
and his use of the ink from a thick applica-
tion to a smoky film. There is almost no
space between the individual columns
of calligraphy. As a result, Yang Weizhen's
colophon has a potent total design, with
large black characters surrounded by smaller
characters, and smoky strokes juxtaposed
with those that are written in broad, solid,
dark ink.

Yang Weizhen applied inner tension and
heavy pressure in each stroke of his brush,
creating some naturally wavy vertical
strokes and others that are jerky and at right
diagonals. The lifted tails of his diagonal
strokes and dots are the remnants of archaic
cursive script. Yang enriched his calligraphy

by mixing different script types, which
range trom cursive to semistandard, and
introducing characters of different struc-
tures, from squarish to circular. The rich
variety and strong contrast lend a modern
feeling to this mid-fourteenth-century
calligraphic work.

The colophon by Yang may be divided
into two sections: an eight-line regular
poem in seven-character meter, and a
postinscription. The poem presents a con-
temporary appraisal of Zou Fulei and his
brother, Zou Fuyuan:

There are two Fus among the Daoists at
Hedong,

Both men are not common and belong to the
unmortals,

The younger Fu paitits pUims like Huaguang,
The elder Fu paints bamboo like Wen Tong,
Wen Tung [the elder Fu] ivent away [died] like

a [painted] dragon breaking down a wall,
Huaguang [the younger Fu] retains the breath

of spring,

The Sage of the Great Tree is in deep dreaming,
The bluebirds sing while he is dreaming at the
dawn}

In the postinscription, written in smaller
characters than the poem, Yang Weizhen
mentions that he visited the two Fu brothers
and saw their paintings. After tea, Zou
Fulei brought out paper and asked for
Yang's inscription. It is dated the seventh
month of 1361, one year after Zou com-

pleted his painting.

Although Zou Fulei was not a well-
known artist, the Freer scroll can be ranked
as one of the best plum-flower paintings of
any period. The powerful trunk and
branches must have inspired Yang to pro-
duce such impassioned calligraphy for
his colophon. Of the dozen of Yang's extant
works, this is considered the most exciting.

Yang Weizhen was also known by the
names Lianfu, Tieyai, and Tieti daoren. His
father built a library — surrounded by
hundreds of plum trees — that held a collec-
tion of many tens of thousands of books.
Yang's father let his son study upstairs
in the library and, to ensure uninterrupted
concentration, would take away the movable
staircase. Yang Weizhen became one of the
most learned scholars and poets of his
generation. After giving up an official ca-
reer, he became an influential teacher and
literatus at Songjiang near Shanghai, al-
though he was a native of Shaoxing, Zhe-
jiang Province.

Yang Weizhen's forceful personality,
dominated by an honest character and
straightforward manner, contributed to his
singular eccentricity, which was the root
of the term "Tieyai style" used to describe
his poetry. Although Yang's calligraphy was
not regarded in the same way, his vibrant
and unique style is immediately recogniz-
able. Traditional criticism toward his callig-
raphy is mixed. Critics thought it was
interesting and untrammeled, yet not up to

% ^ 4

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13 i 4- ^ <a?

11 m

Zou Fulei's A Breath of Spring

36

detail ot colophon by Yang Wcizhcn

the highest standards because it was too
eccentric and unorthodox. To modern eyes,
however, his calHgraphy is picturesque and
visually attractive, with no taint of superfi-
cial or flamboyant movements.

I. Adapted from Archibald G. Wenley's translation in
Archibald G. Wenley, "'A Breath of Spring' by Tsou
Fu-lei," Ars Orieiitalis 2 (1957): 459-69.

Reference; Fu and Nakata 1981-83, vol. 4, pis. 8-10,
pp. 138-40.

overleaf: detail, cat. no. 9

Chinese Calligraphy 37

9 Colophon to the Painting "A Breath of Spring" by Zou Fulei

semicursive script
by Yang Weizhcn {1296-13 70)
China, Yuan dynasty; inscription dated 1361
* handscroU; ink on paper
height 35.8 cm (i4'/a in); length 329 cm (i29'/2 in)
31-1

Yang Weizhen, a renowned scholar-poet and
calhgraphcr, was a close friend of the Daoist
painter Zou Fulci. Yang was inspired by
Zou's painting of a plum branch, and few of
his other calligraphic works match the
quality of his colophon on the Freer hand-
scroll. Yang's untrammeled and unrestrained
colophon is well suited to Zou's powerful
painting. His poem and postinscription
praise Zou Fulei and Zou's brother, and
records his meeting with them. The colo-
phon supplies the only firsthand material
concerning Zou Fulei, for whom biographi-
cal details would otherwise be lost.

The size of the characters in the colophon
varies, and the number of characters within
each column varies from one to four. Yang
Weizhen also varied his brush strokes, from
exceptionally thin to exceptionally broad,
and his use of the ink from a thick apphca-
tion to a smoky film. There is almost no
space between the individual columns
of calligraphy. As a result, Yang Weizhen's
colophon has a potent total design, with
large black characters surrounded by smaller
characters, and smoky strokes juxtaposed
with those that are written in broad, solid,
dark ink.

Yang Weizhen applied inner tension and
heavy pressure in each stroke of his brush,
creating some naturally wavy vertical
strokes and others that arc jerky and at right
diagonals. The hfted tails of his diagonal
strokes and dots are the remnants of archaic
cursive script. Yang enriched his calligraphy

by mixing different script types, which
range from cursive to semistandard, and
introducing characters of different struc-
tures, from squarish to circular. The rich
variety and strong contrast lend a modern
feeling to this mid-fourteenth-century
calligraphic work.

The colophon by Yang may be divided
into two sections: an eight-hne regular
poem in seven-character meter, and a
postinscription. The poem presents a con-
temporary appraisal of Zou Fulei and his
brother, Zou Fuyuan:

There are two Fus among the Daoists at
Hedong,

Both men are not common and belong to the
immortals,

The younger Fn paints plums like Huaguatig,
The elder Fu paints bamboo like Wen Tong,
Wen Timg [the elder Fu] went aivay [died] like

a [painted] dragon breaking down a wall,
Huaguang [the younger Fu] retains the breath

of spring,

The Sage of the Great Tree is in deep dreaming,
The bluebirds sing while he is dreaming at the
dawn:

In the postinscription, written in smaller
characters than the poem, Yang Weizhen
mentions that he visited the two Fu brothers
and saw their paintings. After tea, Zou
Fulei brought out paper and asked for
Yang's inscription. It is dated the seventh
month of 1361, one year after Zou com-

pleted his painting.

Although Zou Fulei was not a well-
known artist, the Freer scroll can be ranked
as one of the best plum-flower paintings of
any period. The powerful trunk and
branches must have inspired Yang to pro-
duce such impassioned calligraphy for
his colophon. Of the dozen of Yang's extant
works, this is considered the most exciting.

Yang Weizhen was also known by the
names Lianfu, Tieyai, and Ticti daoren. His
father built a library — surrounded by
hundreds of plum trees — that held a collec-
tion of many tens of thousands of books.
Yang's father let his son study upstairs
in the library and, to ensure uninterrupted
concentration, would take away the movable
staircase. Yang Weizhen became one of the
most learned scholars and poets of his
generation. After giving up an official ca-
reer, he became an influential teacher and
literatus at Songjiang near Shanghai, al-
though he was a native of Shaoxing, Zhe-
jiang Province.

Yang Weizhen's forceful personality,
dominated by an honest character and
straightforward manner, contributed to his
singular eccentricity, which was the root
of the term "Tieyai style" used to describe
his poetry. Although Yang's calligraphy was
not regarded in the same way, his vibrant
and unique style is immediately recogniz-
able. Traditional criticism toward his callii
raphy is mixed. Critics thought it was
interesting and untrammeled, yet not up to

0

detail of colophon by Yang Weizhei

the highest standards because it was too
eccentric and unorthodox. To modern eyes,
however, his calligraphy is picturesque and
visually attractive, with no taint of superfi-
cial or flamboyant movements.

I. Adapted from Archibald G. Wenlcy's translation in
Archibald G. Wenlcy, '"A Breath of Spring' by Tsou
Fu-lei," Ars Orienlalis 2 (1957): 459-69.

i * ■ -

-\ ^i^^^ Ik
] ^ « ^

i * I

'S ^ I

Zou Fulei 's A Breath of Spring

36

Chinese Calligraphy 37

10 Frontispiece of the Painting ''Seven Scholars Going through the Pass

small seal script

by Cheng Nanyun (act. 1400-1450)
China, Ming dynasty (i 368-1644)
handscroll; ink on paper

height 25.7 cm (10V4 in); length 92.9 cm (36716 in)
16.184

Five large-size characters written in standard
seal script (or small seal script) form the
frontispiece of this handscroll painting. In
this frontispiece, the characters provide the
title of the painting, which may be literally
translated as Picture of Seven Scholars Goiit<^
through the Pass.

The individual strokes of these five
characters are written in even thickness.
The brush tip is hidden at both the begin-
ning and end of each stroke. Even the
joinings of the circular elements are con-
cealed. The corners of the characters are
smooth and round. Although there are
many curves in the five characters that make
up the title, each stroke is like a steel rod,
strong and solid. The structure of individual
characters is either symmetrical or, if asym-
metrical, well balanced. Each stroke is an
integral part of a precalculated perfect
design.

Cheng Nanyun used a regular brush,
with a special technique to conceal the sharp
tip. He turned his brush evenly and steadily
to avoid angular corners. Every stroke is
perfectly polished, each character well
constructed. To balance the simple charac-
ters on the right, Cheng reduced the size of
the fifth character on the left. At the end
of the title, he signed his name in regular
script: "Written by the bureau director
in the Ministry of Personnel, also the
calligrapher-in-waiting at the Hanlin Acad-
emy, Cheng Nanyun."

Cheng Nanyun was a native of Jiangxi
Province. Early in the Yonglo period (1403-
24) he was summoned to serve as a calligra-
pher to the Central Drafting Office. Cheng
was a colleague and close friend of the
famous painter of bamboo, Xia Chang
(1388-1470). Cheng Nanyun was also
known as a painter of bamboo and plum in
the snow. He was famous as a calligrapher
for both seal and standard scripts, but
almost all of the many frontispieces written
by him are in seal script. Judging from his
signature, Cheng's standard script is typical
of the neat and polished court style of the
early Ming dynasty.

During the Zhengtong period (1436-49),
Cheng Nanyun served as the chief minister
at the Court of Imperial Sacrifice at Nan-
jing. The standard seal script he used for the
title of the Freer handscroll is based on the
official script of the Qin dynasty (221-

207 B.C.). Cheng followed that calligraphic
tradition twelve hundred years later,
through the model provided by the Yishan
stele (219 B.C.) and further influenced by the
style of the Tang seal master Li Yangbing
(act. 759-80). Seal script was used as a
formal, more classic or decorative script in
the later periods. Cheng Nanyun is consid-
ered one of the most important seal-script
calligraphers of the early Ming period.

A frontispiece is usually an illustration
preceding and facing the title page of a
book or magazine. In Chinese painting and
calligraphy, however, a frontispiece gener-
ally refers to the calHgraphic section preced-
ing the main work, regardless of whether
the work is of painting or calligraphy, or
whether it is in album or handscroll format.

In content, a calligraphic frontispiece
most often records the title of the work,
although it sometimes may be a laudatory
phrase or, less often, a poem. The calligra-
phy in a frontispiece is usually written in
large-size characters in any of the different
scripts. Before poetic couplets became

popular, frontispieces dating from the Yuan
(1279-1368) and Ming dynasties provided
many rare examples of large-size calligra-
phy. Archaic scripts such as seal and clerical
are more formal than standard and running
scripts. Consequently, Chinese calligraphers
frequently wrote frontispieces in the archaic
scripts. Cursive script, which is strikingly
informal, is seldom used for a frontispiece.

References: Fu and Nakata 1981-83, Ming Qing, vol. I,
fig. 3, pp. 159-60; Lawton 1973, pp. 74-76.

40

detail trom Seven Scholars Goitii; thron'^h the Pass, anonymous, Ming dynasty

Chinese Calligraphy 41

il

10 Frontispiece of the Paititiii^^ "Seven Scholars Going through the Pass"

small sea] script

by Cheng Nanyun (act. 1400-1450)
China, Ming dynasty (1368-1644)
handscroll; ink on paper

height 25.7 cm (10V4 in); length 92.9 cm (jCyit. in)
16.184

Five large-size characters written in standard
seal script (or small seal script) form the
frontispiece of this handscroll painting. In
this frontispiece, the characters provide the
title of the paintmg, which may be literally
translated as Picture ofSet'Cti Scholars Going
through the Pass.

The individual strokes of these five
characters arc written in even thickness.
The brush tip is hidden at both the begin-
ning and end of each stroke. Even the
joinings of the circular elements are con-
cealed. The comers of the characters arc
smooth and round. Although there are
many curves in the five characters that make
up the title, each stroke is like a steel rod,
strong and solid. The structure of individual
characters is cither symmetrical or, if asym-
metrical, well balanced. Each stroke is an
integral part of a prccalculatcd perfect
design.

Cheng Nanyun used a regular brush,
with a special technique to conceal the sharp
tip. He turned his brush evenly and steadily
to avoid angular corners. Every stroke is
perfectly polished, each character well
constructed. To balance the simple charac-
ters on the right, Cheng reduced the size of
the fifth character on the left. At the end
of the title, he signed his name in regular
script: "Written by the bureau director
in the Ministry of Personnel, also the
calligrapher-in-waiting at the Hanlin Acad-
emy, Cheng Nanyun."

Cheng Nanyun was a native of Jiangxi
Province. Early in the Yonglo period (1403-
24) he was summoned to serve as a calligra-
phcr to the Central Drafting Office. Cheng
was a colleague and close friend of the
famous painter of bamboo. Xia Chang
(1388-1470). Cheng Nanyun was also
known as a painter of bamboo and plum in
the snow. He was famous as a calligrapher
for both seal and standard scripts, but
almost all of the many frontispieces written
by him are in seal script. Judging from his
signature, Cheng's standard script is typical
of the neat and polished court style of the
early Ming dynasty.

During the Zhengtong period {1436-49),
Cheng Nanyun served as the chief minister
at the Court of Imperial Sacrifice at Nan-
jing. The standard seal script he used for the
title of the Freer handscroll is based on the
official script of the Qin dynasty (221-

207 B.C.). Cheng followed that calligraphic
tradition twelve hundred years later,
through the model provided by the Yishan
stele (219 B.C.) and further influenced by the
style of the Tang seal master Li Yangbmg
(act. 759-80), Seal script was used as a
formal, more classic or decorative script in
the later periods. Cheng Nanyun is consid-
ered one of the most important seal-script
calligraphcrs of the early Mmg period.

A frontispiece is usually an illustration
preceding and facing the title page of a
book or magazine. In Chinese painting and
calligraphy, however, a frontispiece gener-
ally refers to the calligraphic section preced-
ing the mam work, regardless of whether
the work is of painting or calligraphy, or
whether it is in album or handscroll format.

In content, a calligraphic frontispiece
most often records the title of the work,
although it sometimes may be a laudatory
phrase or, less often, a poem. The calligra-
phy in a frontispiece is usually written in
large-size characters in any of the different
scripts. Before poetic couplets became

popular, frontispieces dating from the Yuan
(1279-1368) and Ming dynasties provided
many rare examples of large-size calligra-
phy. Archaic scripts such as seal and clerical
are more formal than standard and running
scripts. Consequently, Chinese calligraphers
frequently wrote frontispieces in the archaic
scripts. Cursive script, which is strikingly
informal, is seldom used for a frontispiece.

References; Fu and Nakata 1981-83. Ming Qing. vol. i,
f'g 3, pp 159-60; Lawton 1973. PP- 74-76-

40

Chinese Cailigraphy 41

II Preface of the Lanting Gathering by Wang Xizhi

semicursive script
by Wen Zhengming (i 470-1 559)
China, Ming dynasty; dated 1553
handscroll; ink on paper

height 24.9 cm (9'yi6 in); length 139.2 cm (54*^16 in)
10.6

Guided by the vertical grid, the calhgraphy
in this preface is in semicursive script,
arranged in spacious vertical columns.
Although the brushwork is fluent and
speedy, each stroke is nevertheless substan-
tive and full of energy. The fine tips of the
individual strokes are as sharp as needles,
and the heavy strokes appear as if carved
into a wooden surface. Structurally, the
characters are rich in variation, elegant, and
sturdy.

Wen Zhengming, who before 15 10 was
called Wen Bi, was born into a prominent
Suzhou family of scholars and collectors. A
leading painter, calligrapher, and scholar of
the mid-Ming period, Wen Zhengming
studied the classics with Wu Kuan (1435-
1504), painting with Shen Zhou (1427-
1509), and calligraphy with Li Yingzhen
(1431-1493). Together with his literary
friends Zhu Yunming (1461-1527), Tang
Yin (1470-1523), and Xu Zhenqing (1479-
151 1), Wen Zhengming was known as one
of the Four Talents of Wu (Suzhou). During
his long life, Wen Zhengming had a pro-
found influence on several generations
of artistic and literary figures, including
Chen Shun (1483-1544) and Wang Chong
(1494-1533), whose works are also repre-
sented in this catalogue (see cat. nos. 13 and
14). In calligraphy Wen Zhengming excelled
in all the major scripts: seal, clerical, stan-
dard, semicursive, and cursive. Among
them, he most often practiced semicursive
script, following the style of the master
calligrapher Wang Xizhi (ca. 303-ca. 361).
Shengjiao xu (Preface of Buddha's Teachings)
and Lantitig xu (Preface of the Lanting Gather-
ing) by Wang Xizhi were Wen Zhengming's
two major models.

Wang Xizhi composed and calligraphcd
the original Preface of the Lanting Gathering
during a famous literary gathering at
Lanting in the spring of a.d. 353. While
scholars and poets composed poetry and
drank wine, Wang Xizhi used a brush made
from mice whiskers to write his famous
essay on paper made of silk cocoons:

All the worthies, old and young, gather together
at a place with lofty mountains and tall peaks,
surrounded by lushy forest and slender bamboo.
. . . there is a clear running brooklet and rushing
stream winding around and we sit along it
drinking and chanting. . . . That day the sky
was cloudless; the wind blew softly. . . . Here

chimed around us every music that can soothe the
ear; was spread before us every color that can
delight the eye.

It was in this kind of poetic atmosphere
that Wang Xizhi produced his immortal
literature and calligraphy. Although he
made a few corrections on his first draft, it
was to remain his best version; Wang Xizhi
could never again achieve the spontaneity
and rich variation of the original draft, even
though he repeatedly tried to produce a
better final work. Wang Xizhi's first draft
thus became a family treasure until the
lifetime of his seventh-generation descend-
ant, when the manuscript finally went
into the imperial collection of Emperor
Tang Taizong (r. 626-49). The emperor was
an admirer of Wang Xizhi, and in his own
calligraphy followed Wang's style. The
emperor ordered the best calligraphers in
the court to make several close freehand
copies of the Lanting manuscript. The
original version was buried with the em-
peror after his death in a.d. 649, but the
freehand copies and many subsequent
rubbings (see fig. 3) have served as models
for later generations. In the entire history of
calligraphy, the Preface of the Lanting Gather-
ing is the most practiced, copied, and
influential of any single piece of work by a
Chinese calligrapher.

On the third day of the third month of
each year, Chinese poets and calligraphers
of later generations followed the tradition of
holding gatherings and copying the preface
originally written by Wang Xizhi in a.d.
353. The cyclical year when Wang Xizhi
had the gathering was guichou; it was an
especially important event among Chinese
poets and calligraphers when they met on
the same cyclical year, which recurs every
sixty years. The postinscription by Wen
Zhengming on the Freer scroll reads:

On the twenty second day of spring in the
guichou year at the bright window I opened the
scroll to enjoy it then I leisurely transcribed the
model calligraphy: Lanting preface by Zheng-
ming at the age of eighty-four.

The cyclical yezr guichou in the year 1553
occurred exactly twelve hundred years after
Wang Xizhi had written the original preface.
It is reasonable to speculate that Wen wrote
several versions of the preface during the

Fig. 3. Song-dynasty rubbing (a Dingwu
version) of Preface of the Lanting Gathering; ink on
paper. Collection unknown.

spring of that same year. During Wen
Zhengming's entire life he must have writ-
ten several hundred versions of the Preface of
the Lanting Gathering, but there are only a
half-dozen known today

Wen Zhengming was so familiar with the
model that he did not have to copy from the
original. He simply transcribed the text
from memory and still retained the essence
of Wang Xizhi's calligraphic style; at the
same time. Wen Zhengming's versions
reveal his own distinguished style. This
kind of "copy" certainly cannot be regarded
as a practice piece. It is Wen Zhengming's
deeply personal commentary upon the
stylistic achievement of his model, as well
as a display of a purely calligraphic per-
formance in his interpretation of Wang
Xizhi's Lanting preface.

Wen Zhengming was about eighty-four
years old in 1553, six years before his death,
when he wrote the calligraphy for the
Freer scroll. It is remarkable that a man of
his advanced years produced such an ener-
getic, precise, yet elegant work without any
sign of decline in his calligraphy.

References: Fu and Nakata 1981-83, Ming Qitig, vol. i,
pis. 61 and 62, pp. 174-75; Richard Edwards, The Art
of Wen Cheng-ming (1470-1359) (Ann Arbor: University
of Michigan Museum of Art, 1976); Anne De Coursey
Clapp, Wen Cheng-ming: The Ming Artists and Antiquity
(Ascona: Artibus Asiae Publishers, 1975).

42

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Chinese Calligraphy 43

12 Three Letters

semicursive script

by Wang Shouren (1472-1529)

China, Ming dynasty; first letter ca. 1524

handscroll; ink on paper

height 25.5 cm (10 in); length 225 cm (88^16 in)
82.33

The calligraphy in Wang Shouren's scroll of
three letters is arranged with generous
spacing between the columns. The structure
of individual characters is elongated and
tight. Wang Shouren used a springy and
sharp brush that was ideally suited to his
relatively strong and vivid wrist movement.

The fluent, sharp, and forceful brush
strokes are much like the calligraphic style
of the great master Wen Zhengming (1470-
1559; see cat. 11). Wang Shouren was two
years younger than Wen Zhengming, but he
died thirty years earlier. Because there was
no close personal connection between the
two calligraphers, the stylistic similarities
between their work can be explained only
by their having shared the same model: the
Shengjiao xu (Preface of Buddha's Teachings)
by the calligraphy sage Wang Xizhi (ca.
303-ca. 361), who also wrote the original
Preface of the Lariting Gathering (see cat.
no. 11).

Since this calligraphy scroll consists of
three letters by Wang Shouren, the writing
might be considered by some as being
typical and not out of the ordinary. But
China has a long history of appreciating
correspondence as pieces of calligraphy.
With only a few exceptions, for example,
all of the hundreds of works attributed
to Wang Xizhi are personal letters. The
reasons for the regard for correspondence
are several. In the centuries before exhibi-
tions of calligraphy became popular in
China, a personal letter was almost the only
way to impress others with one's calligra-
phy. Ancient masters, therefore, usually
paid more attention to their correspondence
than people do today. Letters were collected
by friends or connoisseurs of later genera-
tions. Sometimes, in the course of history,
the letters were carved in stone so that
rubbings could be made to serve as model
calligraphies. All Chinese calligraphers were
thus raised in a tradition that placed great
emphasis upon copying letters by great
masters from the past. When they wrote
their letters, it was with the understanding
that they would someday be collected by
friends and later connoisseurs. Through
spontaneously written correspondences, a
calligrapher could reveal his training, culti-
vation, and talent. Letters were traditionally
important, moreover, because Chinese
historians have always been interested in

learning details about a calligrapher 's life
through his letters.

It is not essential to know the content of
letters, such as these written by Wang
Shouren, when trying to appreciate the
calligraphy alone. Since these particular
letters are not dated, however, an art histo-
rian trying to place them within Wang
Shouren's oeuvre would study the texts to
know more about the calligrapher.

Wang Shouren, philosopher and official
as well as calligrapher, came from a family
registered in Yuyao, Zhejiang Province, but
resided most of the time in the prefectural
city of Shaoxing. It was said that Wang was
unable to speak until the age of four, but
he exhibited a spirit of adventure and a
questioning of orthodox beliefs, characteris-
tics that helped to explain his future turbu-
lent political career and dynamic thinking.

Wang Shouren received the jinshi degree
in 1499. After serving as a government
official for three years, his health declined
and he returned home to recuperate and
contemplate at Yangming Mountain in
Kuaiji Range. After that time, he became
known as Wang Yangming.

Central to Wang Shouren's best-known
philosophy, which developed after 1 509, is
that knowledge and action are one. He
believed that knowledge is the beginning of
action and action is the completion of
knowledge. Wang Shouren was considered
the most important and influential Chinese
philosopher since the sixteenth century. In
addition, he had a successful official career
later in his life. He was the provincial
governor of Guangdong and Guangxi
provinces, and in that capacity settled a
long-lasting local rebellion. It is generally
acknowledged that among his contempo-
rary civil officials, he was the most knowl-
edgeable in matters of defense and strategy.

Several points relating to the date of
Wang Shouren's first letter in the Freer
handscroll should be mentioned: Wang was
in the mourning period for his deceased
father when he wrote the letter; his first
wife was seriously ill; and he wrote the
letter before he married his second wife.
From Wang Shouren's biography, we know
that his father died in 1522 and that the
official mourning period lasted three years.
Second, we also know that Wang's first wife
died in 1525, and that he remarried the

same year. It is reasonable to suggest, there-
fore, that the first letter in the Freer hand-
scroll was written around 1524, about
five years before the calligrapher's death.
The recipient of the letter was one of Wang
Shouren's relatives, Wang Bangxiang.
With the letter, Wang Shouren also sent
money and a request for Wang Bangxiang
to order him a pair of black official shoes
and the highest quality of strings for his
lute.

detail showing Wang Shouren's signature

44

13 ''Thoughts on Ancient Sites" by Du Fu

wild-cursive script
by Chen Shun (1483-1544)
China, Ming dynasty; ca. 1540
handscroll; ink on paper

height 26.7 cm (10V2 in); length 769.7 cm (303'/i6 in)
80.21

Chinese calligraphers sometimes transcribed
a text of their own composition, and on
other occasions transcribed texts written by
another person. Although it is obvious
that a calligrapher can choose a text of any
type, by any author, and from any period, it
is equally true that the calligraphers choice
may reflect his thoughts, taste, trainmg, and
cultivation. Furthermore, a particular text
may be fraught with emotional or cultural
connotations that influence the mood of the
calligrapher while he is writing. The excit-
ing brush movements in this scroll by Chen
Shun were to a degree inspired by the
famous poems of the "sage of poetry," Du
Fu (712-770) of the Tang dynasty (618-
907).

In this scroll, sweeping brush strokes
move in a broad arching pattern across the
paper; dots attack the paper from the air.
The calligrapher clearly was in full charge
of his exuberant energy. Chen Shun moved
his suspended arm and brush at great speed.
The ribbonlike strokes dance in the air in a
rich variety of movements. The structure of
characters varies from tight and small to
extremely expansive and airy. The columns
also vary; some contain several characters,
others, only one. Hardly a character is
written on a single vertical axis. The char-
acters twist, shrink, stretch, and lean toward
right or left; each one has its own manner
and expression.

The ink tonality also varies from dark to
pale, wet to dry, opaque to smoky. This
handscroll is visually one of Chen Shun's
most exciting scrolls of calligraphy. Yet
some critics may think that the ribbonlike
strokes are too thin and flat, too light
and without substance, and that the side-
ways strokes are too scratchy. The sponta-
neous movement cannot produce articulate
strokes all the way through, which may
be one of Chen's most criticized shortcom-
ings. Otherwise, he would be considered as
prominent as his teachers and contempora-
ries, who are recognized as the great masters
of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).

Great speed in execution certainly relies
on the individual calligraphers personality
and character, but in this case the fluency
was also aroused by the poems Chen Shun
was transcribing. He must have memorized
Du Fu's famous poems; it is evident that
Chen was deeply moved by them and that
their content constantly aroused his emo-
tions.

Although there are five poems originally
included in Du Fu's "Thoughts on Ancient
Sites," Chen Shun transcribed only three of
them on this scroll. The last poem may be
translated as:

Chu-ko's great name hangs across the world,
His portrait is majestic and pure.
Triple division and separate states twisted his
plans,

A single feather in a sky of a thousand ages.
Not better nor worse was he than Yi and Lii;
Had his strategy succeeded, he would have bested

Hsiao and Ts'ao.
As revolving fate shifted the fortunes of Han,

they could not be restored;
His purpose was cut off and his body destroyed as

he toiled with the army.^

Chen Shun's inscription, which appears
after the third poem, reads:

Written by Chen Daofu in a secluded place of
the "Emerald Cloud Studio" at the Five Lakes
Country Residence.

Chen Shun (also known as Chen Daofu
and Baiyang shanren) was a well-known
painter and calligrapher of Suzhou and the
eldest student of the master Wen Zheng-
ming (1470-1559; see cat. no. 11). He came
from a well-to-do family and frequently
entertained artistic and literary friends at his
Five Lakes Country Residence. Chen was
not only an eminent calligrapher, but
was also one of the most important and
influential flower painters of the Ming
period. The Freer scroll is one of his most
cursive and exciting calligraphic scrolls,
revealing the influence of Zhu Yunming
(1461-1527) and of Tang-dynasty calligra-
phers.

Although the scroll is not dated, most of
the works done by Chen Shun at the Five
Lakes Country Residence can be assigned to
the years between 1539 and 1542. The
scroll may be stylistically dated around
1540, about four years before the calligra-
pher's death.

I. Translation by Hans H. Frankel in Hans H. Frankel,
The Floweriiij; Plum and the Palace Lady (New Haven,
Conn.: Yale University Press, 1976), p. 118.

References: Fu and Nakata 1981-83, Ming Qitig, vol. I,
color plate 3, pis. 85-91, pp. 180-81; Fu 1977, pi. 55,
pp. 92 and 234.

46

Chinese Calligraphy 47

13 ''Thoughts on Ancient Sites" by Du Fu

wild-cursivc script
by Chen Shun (1483-1544)
China, Ming dynasty; ca. 1540
handscroll; ink on paper

height 26.7 cm {10V2 in); length 769.7 cm (jOj'/u. in)
So. 2 1

Chinese calligraphers sometimes transcribed
a text of their own composition, and on
other occasions transcribed texts written by
another person. Although it is obvious
that a calligrapher can choose a text of any
type, by any author, and from any period, it
is equally true that the calligraphers choice
may reflect his thoughts, taste, training, and
cultivation. Furthermore, a particular text
may be fraught with emotional or cultural
connotations that influence the mood of the
calligrapher while he is writing. The excit-
ing brush movements in this scroll by Chen
Shun were to a degree inspired by the
famous poems of the "sage of poetry," Du
Fu (712-770) of the Tang dynasty (618-
907).

In this scroll, sweeping brush strokes
move in a broad arching pattern across the
paper; dots attack the paper from the air.
The calhgrapher clearly was in full charge
of his exuberant energy. Chen Shun moved
his suspended arm and brush at great speed.
The ribbonlike strokes dance in the air in a
rich variety of movements. The structure of
characters vanes from tight and small to
extremely expansive and airy. The columns
also vary; some contain several characters,
others, only one. Hardly a character is
written on a single vertical axis. The char-
acters twist, shnnk, stretch, and lean toward
right or left; each one has its own manner
and expression.

The ink tonality also varies from dark to
pale, wet to dry, opaque to smoky. This
handscroll is visually one of Chen Shuns
most exciting scrolls of calligraphy. Yet
some critics may think that the ribbonlike
strokes are too thin and flat, too Hght
and without substance, and that the side-
ways strokes are too scratchy. The sponta-
neous movement cannot produce articulate
strokes all the way through, which may
be one of Chen's most criticized shortcom-
ings. Otherwise, he would be considered as
prominent as his teachers and contempora-
ries, who are recognized as the great masters
of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).

Great speed in execution certainly relies
on the individual calligraphers personality
and character, but in this case the fluency
was also aroused by the poems Chen Shun
was transcnbing. He must have memorized
Du Fu's famous poems; it is evident that
Chen was deeply moved by them and that
their content constantly aroused his emo-
tions.

Although there arc five poems originally
included in Du Fu's "Thoughts on Ancient
Sites," Chen Shun transcribed only three of
them on this scroll. The last poem may be
translated as:

Chu-ko's great name hangs across the world,
His portrait is majestic and pure.
Triple division and separate slates twisted his
plans,

A single feather in a sky of a thousand ages.
Not better nor worse was he than Yi and Lii;
Had his strategy succeeded, he would have bested

Hsiao and Ts'ao.
As revolving fate shifted the fortunes of Han,

they could not be restored;
His purpose was cut off and his body destroyed as

he toiled with the anny.^

Chen Shuns inscription, which appears
after the third poem, reads:

Written by Chen Daofu in a secluded place of
the "Emerald Cloud Studio" at the Five Lakes
Country Residence.

Chen Shun (also known as Chen Daofu
and Baiyang shanren) was a well-known
painter and calligrapher of Suzhou and the
eldest student of the master Wen Zheng-
ming (1470-1559; see cat. no. 11). He came
from a well-to-do family and frequently
entertained artisric and htcrary friends at his
Five Lakes Country Residence. Chen was
not only an eminent calligrapher, but
was also one of the most important and
influential flower painters of the Ming
period. The Freer scroll is one of his most
cursive and exciting calligraphic scrolls,
revealing the influence of Zhu Yunming
(1461-1527) and of Tang-dynasty calligra-
phers.

Although the scroll is not dated, most of
the works done by Chen Shun at the Five
Lakes Country Residence can be assigned to
the years between 1 539 and 1 542. The
scroll may be stylistically dated around
1540, about four years before the calligra-
pher's death.

I, Translation by Hans H, Frankcl in Hans H. Frankel.
The Flowering Plum and the Palace Lady (New Haven,
Conn.: Yale University Press, 1976}. p. 118.

References: Fu and Nakata 1981-83. Ming Qing. vol. i,
color plate 3. pis. 85-91. pp. 180-81; Fu 1977, pi. 55,

pp. 92 and 234.

46

Chinese Calligraphy 47

I

detail, cat. no. 13

48

14 Six Quatrains on the Lotus Pond

semicursive script
by Wang Chong (1494-15 3 3)
China, Ming dynasty; ca. 1528-29
handscroll; ink on paper

height 25.9 cm (loVui in); length 702.5 cm (276yi(. in)
80.2

The poems in this scroll were both com-
posed and transcribed by Wang Chong. As
a result, the concepts of the poetry and
the quality of the calligraphy are coherently
related. In works of this type, in which the
text and calhgraphy are by the same person,
the calligrapher's ideas, learning, training,
and talent, as well as his cultivation and
character, are more apparent than when the
transcription is of a text by another author.
In Wang Chong's scroll, the leisurely atmo-
sphere, the beauty of the Lotus Pond, and
the mood of the calligrapher are vividly
displayed.

The eighty-line handscroll was written in
"running cursive" script, on sparsely gold-
flecked colored paper. The heavy and sturdy
brush strokes vary in pressure and speed;
the characters vary in size. The entire scroll
is filled with brilliant, exuberant spirit, with
unexpected changes of form and a feeling
of expansiveness. The calligraphy is out-
standing in its monumentality and fresh-
ness— especially with its lacquerlike rich
black ink — as if written in a state of pure
exhilaration.

The scroll begins with the title of the
poems: "Six Quatrains on the Lotus Pond."
Renditions of the first, second, and fourth
quatrains give the flavor of the contents:

;

From picking lotus at the Lotus Pond the girls
return ,

as evening clouds thin out above the Nine

Dragon Mountain.
Their bodies light, leaning on the oars, they

return to shore,
the breath of flowers, and their own fragrance ,

flying with the waves.

II

Green mountains like a folding screen, emerald

waters winding,
and ten thousand lotus flowers bloom in patterns.
Boats of song waving the oars beside the weeping

willows,

ten miles of prosperity amid the embroideries.
IV

All the families on this pond are selling lotus,
the fifteen-year-old girl is good at counting
the money.

In front of the bramble gate is a tapestry of
flowers,

the old man is napping in the breeze beneath a
tall tree.

detail showing Wang Chong's signature

At the end of the sixth quatrain, Wang
Chong added an inscription that reads:

Yesterday I talked with Yuan Yuzhi about the
beauty of the Lotus Pond. Yuzhi said he did not
know, so I composed and presented six quatrains
to him, in the hope that they may take him on
an "armchair journey." Wang Chong.^

Wang Chong, a poet and calligrapher,
was a native of Suzhou. He studied with
Cai Yu (ca. 1471-1541). Between 1510 and
1 53 1, Wang Chong failed the provincial
examinations eight times, and yet he was
highly regarded by Wen Zhengming (1470-
1559; see cat. no. 11) and his circle. Al-
though Wang Chong died prematurely, to-
gether with Zhu Yunming (i 461-1527) and
Wen Zhengming he is considered one of
the three great masters of calligraphy in the
Ming dynasty.

Although Wang Chong did not date the
Freer scroll, it is clear from judging the
style and biographical material that the
poems were written around 1528-29, when
the calligrapher was about thirty-five years
old. Few other Chinese calligraphers
achieved such high quality at such a young
age. This scroll is also probably the best
extant calligraphic work by Wang Chong.

I. Adapted from a translation by Jonathan Chaves.

References: Fu and Nakata 1981-X3, Ming Qing, vol. i,
color plate 3, pis. 75-78, pp. 177-79; Fu 1977. pl- 57.
pp.92, 1 12-13, and 275.

50

14 Six Quatrains on the Lotus Pond

scmicursive script
by Wang Chong (i494-i533)
China, Ming dynasty; ca. 1528-29
handscroll; ink on paper

height 25.9 cm (lO-Vi*. in); length 702.5 cm (276Vtb in)
80.2

The poems in this scroll were both com-
posed and transcribed by Wang Chong. As
a result, the concepts of the poetry and
the quality of the calligraphy are coherently
related. In works of this type, in which the
text and calligraphy are by the same person,
the calligrapher's ideas, learning, training,
and talent, as well as his cultivation and
character, are more apparent than when the
transcnption is of a text by another author.
In Wang Chong's scroll, the leisurely atmo-
sphere, the beauty of the Lotus Pond, and
the mood of the calligrapher are vividly
displayed.

The eighty-line handscroll was written in
"running cursive" script, on sparsely gold-
flecked colored paper. The heavy and sturdy
brush strokes vary in pressure and speed;
the characters vary in size. The entire scroti
is filled with brilhant, exuberant spirit, with
unexpected changes of form and a feehng
of expansivencss. The calligraphy is out-
standing in its monumcntality and fresh-
ness— especially with its lacquerlike rich
black ink — as if written in a state of pure
exhilaration.

The scroll begins with the title of the
poems: "Six Quatrains on the Lotus Pond."
Renditions of the first, second, and fourth
quatrains give the flavor of the contents:

/

From picking lolus at the Lotus Pond the girls
return,

as evening clouds thin out aboi'e the Nine

Dragon Mountain.
Their bodies light, leaning on the oars, they

return to shore,
the breath of flowers, and their own fragrance,

fiying with the waves.

il

Green mountains tike a folding screen, emerald

waters winding,
and ten thousand lotus Jiowers bloom in patterns.
Boats of song waving the oars beside the weeping

willows,

ten miles of prosperity amid the embroideries.
IV

AH the families on this pond are selling lolus,
the fifteen-year-old girl is good at counting
the money.

In front oj the bramble gate is a tapestry of
flowers,

the old man is napping in the breeze beneath a
tall tree.

detail showing Wang Chong's signature

At the end of the sixth quatrain, Wang
Chong added an inscription that reads:

Yesterday I talked with Yuan Yuzhi about the
beauty of the Lotus Pond. Yuzhi said he did not
know, so I composed and presented six quatrains
to him, in the hope that they may take him on
an "armchair joiiniey." Wang Chong.^

Wang Chong, a poet and calligrapher,
was a native of Suzhou. He studied with
Cai Yu (ca. 1471-1541). Between 1510 and
1531. Wang Chong failed the provincial
examinations eight times, and yet he was
highly regarded by Wen Zhcngming (1470-
1559; see cat. no. 11) and his circle. Al-
though Wang Chong died prematurely, to-
gether with Zhu Yunming (i46i-!527) and
Wen Zhengming he is considered one of
the three great masters of calligraphy in the
Ming dynasty.

Although Wang Chong did not date the
Freer scroll, it is clear from judging the
style and biographical material that the
poems were written around 1528-29. when
the calligrapher was about thirty-five years
old. Few other Chinese calhgraphers
achieved such high quality at such a young
age. This scroll is also probably the best
extant calligraphic work by Wang Chong.

I- Adapted from a translation by Jonathan Chaves.

References: Fu and Nakata 1981-83, Ming Qing, vol, i,
color plate j, pis. 7S-78. PP- 177-79; Fu 1977- pi- 57.
pp 92, 113-13, and 275.

50

15 Couplet

standard script

by Fu Shan (1607-1684)

China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)

pair ot hanging scrolls; ink on paper

each: height 226 cm (89 in); width 45.5 cm (17% in)

8o.2oa-b

The brushwork of the calligraphy m this
scroll is bold, heavy, sturdy, and muscular.
Individual characters measure approxi-
mately one or more square feet in size. The
structure of the characters is monumental
yet cohesive. Fu Shan has imbued the brush
strokes with such inner tension and energy
that the characters have an almost explosive
quality.

Fu Shan exhausted his energy as he
transformed his inner tension through his
movement of the soft-haired brush. The
Freer scroll is one of the most monumental
calligraphic works produced by any Chinese
artist.

The tradition of mounting couplets as
paired hanging scrolls became popular in
China after the sixteenth century. Before
that time, couplets were pasted directly
onto a door gate, or engraved onto the
curved wooden panels that were hung on
pillars on both sides of a gate to a Chinese
building or on the symmetrical pillars inside
the building.

In Chinese calligraphy a couplet always
combmes calligraphy and parallel composi-
tion. Short and concise poetic or philosoph-
ical texts and large-size calligraphy have
enjoyed wide popularity since the sixteenth
century. The format of a pair of hanging
scrolls is unique among all the various
Chinese calligraphic forms.

A couplet is a unit of verse consisting of
two successive lines, which usually rhyme
and have the same meter. In Chinese poetry
the art of couplet writing developed into a
sophisticated and independent poetic for-
mat. In the eight lines (four couplets) of
"regulated verse," or liishi, the second and
third couplets require a strict and perfect
parallelism. The form not only observes the
rules of tonal parallelism, but also requires
a strict verbal parallelism. For example, a
literal translation of the Freer couplet by Fu
Shan is:

Nature peace, meet heart naturally far;
Body leisure, pleasant matter specially more,

but the meaning of the couplet is:

One's inner nature at peace, the meetin(> of mitici

naturally reaches Jar;
One's physical body at leisure, the pleasant

matters specially gain more.^

Although this couplet contains six char-
acters in each line, the most common Chi-
nese couplets from the "regulated verse"
form are in five- and seven-character meters.
An independent couplet can be in almost
any meter or in prose format, however, as
long as it observes the tonal and verbal
parallelism. The beauty of a Chinese couplet
relies on the perfection of the geometrical
balance of the parallel construction as well
as on the depth or elegance of its meaning.

The content of a couplet ranges from the
poetic to the philosophical. The earliest,
everlasting Chinese couplets used on the
gates of people's houses are the New Year
couplets, which usually contain auspicious
lines for the coming year. Scholarly cou-
plets, meant to be hung in a scholar's studio,
probably were first used in the sixteenth
century and became extremely popular in
the nineteenth century. This calligraphic
format still remains one of the most popular
in China.

Fu Shan (also known as Fu Qingzhu,
Zhuyi daoren, and other names) was an
eminent scholar, teacher, doctor, calligra-
pher, and painter. In 1644, when he was
thirty-eight years old, the Manchus con-
quered China and established the Qing
dynasty. Fu Shan, who refused to serve the
alien rulers, wore traditional Daoist attire,
and in his poems lamented the fall of his
country. As a youth Fu Shan practiced the
standard script of the Jin (265-420) and
Tang (618-907) dynasties. Later, he studied
the calligraphy of Yen Zhenqing (709-
785). Finally, he created his own bold and
distinct personal style, which is best repre-
sented by his cursive script (see fig. 4).

I. Adapted from a translation by Jonathan Chaves.

Reference: Fu and Nakata 1981-83, Ming Qd/.i;, vol. 2,
pi. 41, P- 140.

Fig. 4. A more typical example of Fu Shan's
cursive script.

52

Chinese Calligraphy 53

1 6 Biography of Gao Cen

standard script

by Zhou Lianggong (i6i 2-1672)
China, Qing dynasty; dated 165 1
album leaf; ink on paper

height 24.1 cm {gVi in); width 31.6 cm {iiVu in)
80.116

Landscape by Gao Cen; late Ming dynasty

This small standard script by Zhou Liang-
gong is written in a more archaic manner
than is customary, with some elements
derived from clerical script. Accented by
occasional heavy diagonal strokes, the
structure of individual characters is squarish
with sharply articulated corners. Zhou
Lianggong started the Biography of Gao Cen
(mid-seventeenth century) with small and
tightly composed characters, and gradually
loosened his handling of the brush, using
larger characters and more spacious col-
umns. Toward the end of the biography, he
again reduced the size of the characters.

Zhou Lianggong wrote the characters
slowly, introducing many unconventionally
structured forms. Yet the calligraphy does
not appear to be slick or vulgar; it is archa-
istically clumsy and has a distinct personal-
ity and style. This is not the kind of callig-
raphy written in the orthodox style by a
well-trained and talented calligrapher. It is,
rather, the work of a learned scholar-
individualist.

The leaf is mounted on the hanging scroll
above a landscape painting by the calligra-
pher's contemporary, poet-painter Gao Cen.
The text by Zhou Lianggong is a biography
of Gao Cen and mentions his brother and
teacher as well.

Gao Cen . . . is the younger brother of Gao Fu,
who is well known in the art world. . . . Fu
and I have been friends for a very long time, but
it was not until later that I became friends with
Cen. He has a beard like a halberd and looks
like a man who should wear an embroidered robe
and ride on a noble steed. However, he takes
pleasure from his belief in Buddhism and studies
poetry. . . .

As a youth he studied painting under Zhu
Hanzhi, but in his late years he followed
his own ideas. The paintings in this album were
all painted at a temple in the mountains oj
southern suburbs [of Nanking], amid the shade
of pines and the gurgling streams. Excluding
all things frivolous and noisy, they quietly drew
the viewer into a state of tranquility. . . .

I once stayed at the Sung-feng pavilion where I
watched Master Xin and Cen engaged in a quiet
discourse late at night. . . . Whenever Cen
grasped something from their discussion, he has-
tened to put it on paper. . . . Both Fu and Cen
are oj unusually fine character. The place where
the two sages live is green and cool, full of
vegetation and creepers.'^

From this excerpt, it is clear that Zhou
Lianggong's vivid description is not only a
masterful piece of literature. It is a most
important art historical document, because
it provides firsthand information about
Gao Cen.

Zhou Lianggong, scholar-official, art
patron, collector, and critic, was a native of
Hcnan Province although he grew up and
spent most of his life in Nanjing, the south-
ern capital and the major painting center of
the time. It was in Nanjing that Zhou
Lianggong became acquainted with most of
the leading artists, acquired their paintings,
and wrote biographical essays for them.
Zhou wrote seventy-seven biographies that
were later assembled for a book entitled
Duhualu (Record of Reading Paintings),
which provides rich information on seven-
teenth-century painting and painting criti-
cism.

Zhou Lianggong presumably transcribed
all the biographical essays in his unique
personal calligraphic style, then mounted
them with the paintings. But, so far as
is known, the Freer album leaf is the only
known handwritten biography by Zhou
among the seventy-seven essays in his
Duhualu, which is extant today.

Zhou Lianggong received the civil service
jinshi degree in 1640 and served in various
official posts. In his longest appointment,
from 1647 to 1654, he served at Fujian, first
as provincial judge and later as financial
commissioner. Zhou dated this handwritten
biography of Gao Cen in 1651; it must
have been written, therefore, at Fujian,
when Zhou was just forty years old,
twenty-one years before his death. The
accompanying painting by Gao Cen is not
dated, but may well have been created
before 165 1. It is, therefore, one of Gao
Cen's relatively early works.

I. Hongnam Kim, "Chou Liang-kung and His Tu-hua-
lu" (Lives of painters) (Ph.D. diss., Yale University,
1985), vol. 2, pp. 142-43.

54

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Chinese Calligrapliy 55

17 Thoughts about the Li Brothers

cursive script

by Huang Shen (1687-1768)

China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)

hanging scroll; ink on paper

height 138 cm (54y8 in); width 42 cm {16V2 in)

80.13

Although the calligrapher Huang Shen
wrote in cursive script, he did not empha-
size the speed with which he wrote by
linking strokes or characters. On the other
hand, Huang Shen was interested in the
simplicity and abstract quality of the cursive
script. He even purposely chose not to link
those strokes that are usually connected.
There are, therefore, more dots and short
strokes and fewer loops in his calligraphy
than are in ordinary cursive script.

Huang Shen was also interested in shifting
the axis from character to character. He
alternated the heavy and light and the
elongated and squat characters, and he
varied the thick and thin strokes. Huang
occasionally experimented even further, by
including one or two characters in running
script in the midst of his cursive calligraphy.
Not only did he leave little space between
characters in the same column, but he also
maintained tight spacing between columns.
The whole composition of the hangmg
scroll is thus a pattern of rich variation in
shapes and brushwork. Characters are
woven together, with the individual charac-
ters being less prominent and less impor-
tant. The approach is more painterly than
that used by most Chinese calligraphers. It
is no surprise that Huang Shen was also a
famous and accomplished painter.

Huang Shen (also known as Huang
Yingpiao) was recognized as one of the
Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou during the
eighteenth century. A native of Tingzhou in
Fujian Province, he received instructions in
painting figures, landscapes, birds, and
flowers from Shangguan Zhou (1665-ca.
1749). When Huang realized that there was
no way to surpass the skilled perfection of
his teacher, he constantly thought about
a new style. He was finally inspired by the
wild-cursive calligraphy of the Tang master
Huaisu (725-785). Huang Shen not only
practiced cursive calligraphy, but also
successfully applied the cursive strokes to
his paintings (see fig. 5). Even his teacher,
Shangguan Zhou, was impressed by
Huang's new style of painting. When
Huang applied the principles of painting to
his calligraphy, as he did in the Freer scroll,
he achieved a new style.

The content of the scroll is a quatrain
composed by Huang Shen:

Beside the city of flower and stone evening

sadness rises;
I remember you — two brothers — in the autumn

of Chu Mountains.
South of the Lake, north of the Lake, unlimited

emotion;

A thousand miles of shared thoughts, a single

tower of moonlight.
— Sent with Jeelings to Li Ziho and Li Ziming,

Huang Shen of Min [Fujian].'

The title of the quatrain, "Thoughts
about the Li Brothers," suggests that this
calligraphic work was possibly also dedi-
cated to the Li brothers. The scroll is
not dated, but judging from the calligraphic
style, it is probably one of Huang's late
works. The calligraphy was written as a
medium-size hanging scroll, which suggests
that it was not necessarily meant as a per-
sonal message to be sent to the Li brothers.
Even so, the large format indicates that
Huang Shen regarded the scroll as an
important work of art.

I. Translated by Jonathan Chaves.

Reference: Fu and Nakata 1981-83, Ming Qing, vol. 2,
pi. 75, p. 149.

I

'a'

Fig. 5. Man Gazing at Magnolias, dated 1722.
Painting and calligraphy by Huang Shen. Freer
Gallery of Art, 62.i4._

56

Chinese Calligraphy 57

1 8 In the Style of the Kong Zhou Stele

clerical script
by He Shaoji (i 799-1 873)
China, Qing dynasty; ca. i860
hanging scroll; ink on paper

height 137.5 cm (54'/« in); width 46.2 cm (iSyu, in)
82.7

Fig. 6. Rubbing (date unknown) made trom the original stone ot the Kong Zhou stele (a.d. 164)
in the Confucius Temple, Qufu, Shandong Province; ink on paper.

In China, "model calhgraphy" traditionally
can be divided into two main categories:
bei, or "stele," and tie, or "copybook." Most
of the works included in Chinese copy-
books are reproductions of free-brush
writings by the great masters. The Lanting
preface (see cat. no. 11) is one of the most
famous examples.

The calligraphy engraved on the surfaces
of stone was mainly written by anonymous
calligraphers active from the Qin (221-207
B.C.) to the Sui (581-618) dynasty. A num-
ber of stelae by famous calligraphers of
the Tang dynasty (618-907) were also
included as models. In general, the writing
style used in stelae was more formal and
monumental than the calligraphy included
in copybooks. Aside from their stylistic
preference, followers of the stele school of
calligraphy criticized those who emulated
the models in copybooks by stressing
that the surviving versions in copybooks
hardly resembled the original writings
because copyists introduced so many
changes through the centuries. The inscrip-
tions preserved on stone stelae, on the
other hand, are just one step removed from
the original. During the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries many Chinese calligra-
phers, inspired by the study of epigraphy,
turned to stone inscriptions for models and
for inspiration. The scroll by He Shaoji is
a typical example of a work modeled on
a stone stele.

The slightly squat structure, emphasized
by horizontal strokes and occasional heavy
accents with upward lifted tails, is charac-
teristic of Chinese clerical script. Written on
a relatively absorbent paper, all of the char-
acters on this hanging scroll were written
with the reversed brush-tip method. He
Shaoji purposely formed some wet, round,
and thick stroke heads to create an interest-
ing contrast to the thin and dry strokes.
He wrote all the strokes with his elbow and
arm suspended; the energy in his body was
concentrated m his fingers and transmitted
to the brush tip. There are no mechanically
parallel brush strokes; each stroke, each
character, is a living unit. Although He did
not sign his name or affix a name seal on
the scroll, the distinctive style and quality
clearly reveal his hand.

He Shaoji (also known as He Zizhen and
Yuansou) was a native of Daozhou in
Hunan Province. In addition to being a

famous poet-calligrapher, he was a scholar
of the classics and an etymologist. He
received instructions in the art ot calligraphy
from his father. He Linghan (i 772-1 840), a
high government official. He Shaoji's favor-
ite models were the Tang masters Yen
Zhenqing (709-785) and, to a lesser extent,
Li Yung (673-747). He also studied widely
the scripts on northern stelae, as well as seal
and clerical scripts.

In his sixties. He Shaoji devoted most of
his energy to practicing clerical stelae of the
Han dynasty (206 B.C. -a.d. 220). He
would copy his favorite models a hundred
times. He did not specify the stele on which
he based the writing in this scroll, but
from the text and style, it is clear that his
model was the Kong Zhou stele (see fig. 6).

Kong Zhou (a.d. 103-163) was the
nineteenth generational descendant of Con-
fucius and the father of the famous Kong
Rong (a.d. 153-208). Kong Zhou had a
lofty personality, and was a learned scholar
and successful official. According to the
text, after Kong Zhou died, "his students
and employees went to the famous moun-
tains together, picked this fine stone, and
engraved this commemorative inscription to
be shown to later generations." The original
stele is still preserved at the Confucius
temple at Qufu in Shandong Province. The
elegant calligraphy of the stele was praised

by many Qing scholar-calligraphers as
one of the orthodox works of clerical script.

The section freely imitated by He Shaoji
was on the reverse side of the stele, which
recorded all the names of Kong Zhou's
followers and their native places. The wet
ink blobs naturally produced by He's special
brush method resemble the chips of aging
stone. The six characters in running script at
the end state:

Occasionally written while looking at the
bamboo under the rain,

which indicates that He Shaoji wrote the
scroll while at leisure and when he felt
in the right mood. The calligraphy is not
dated, but the text on the first seal indicates
that He wrote the scroll after he had held
official posts in charge of the provincial
examinations in Fujian (1839), Guizhou
(1844), and Guangdong (1849) provinces. In
1852, He Shaoji served as commissioner of
education in Sichuan and left that office in
1855. Around i860 he was teaching in
Shandong, where the Kong Zhou stele was
located. The scroll may be dated, therefore,
about i860, when He was in his early
sixties.

Reference: Fu and Nakata 1981-83, Ming Qing, vol. 2,
pi. 95, pp. 156-57.

58

19 Frontispiece of a Poetry Scroll by Xu Wei

seal script

by Wu Tingyang (i 799-1 870)
China, Qing dynasty; 1843
handscroll; ink on paper

height 31.7 cm (12V2 in); length 95.6 cm (37% in)
80.3

Four large characters forming this frontis-
piece are written in a special type ot seal
script. In writing the characters, Wu Ting-
yang began the individual strokes with
squarish heads and then ended some of the
strokes with long, sharp tails. These charac-
teristics, together with the calligrapher's
introduction of squarish corners to some
turning strokes, are quite different from
regular seal script. An explanation for the
unusual script can be found in the Tianfa
Shencan stele (see fig. 7), dating from a.d.
276, which was Wu Tingyang's model for
the four characters. The calligraphy on the
Tianfa Shencan stele dates from the transi-
tional period between the fully evolved
"clerical" and "standard" scripts. The new
elements in the use of brush and in the
composition of individual characters were
introduced into the older "seal" script to
achieve a unique calligraphic style. The
historical importance of the script was
recognized by scholars of the Qing dynasty
(1644-1911); some late Qing antiquarian
calligraphers, like Wu Tingyang, copied it.

The four characters on the frontispiece of
this Freer handscroll may be translated as
"The writing of poetry by Qingteng."
Qingteng is one of the names used by Xu
Wei (1521-1593), the renowned eccentric
writer, poet, calligrapher, and, in painting,
the precursor of Shitao (1642-1707), Zhuda
(1624-1705), and the Yangzhou Eccentrics.
The main body of the Freer scroll consists
often poems in cursive script, composed
and written by Xu Wei (also known as Xu
Qingteng); the four-character frontispiece
by Wu Tingyang constitutes the title of the
scroll. The three lines of smaller calligraphy
to the left of the title provide the date and
Wu's signature:

In mid-sprinj^ of the twenty-third year of the
Daoguang reign, Wu Tingyang viewed [this
scroll by Xu Wei] at Hailing and wrote this.

From Wu's comment, we know that he
wrote the frontispiece in 1843 when he was
forty-five years old, twenty-seven years
before his death. Compared to most of
Wu's extant works, which are from a later
period, the title on the Freer scroll may
be considered one of his early efforts.

Wu Tingyang (also known as Wu Xizai
and Wu Rangzhi) was a native of Yizheng,

Jiangsu Province. He was the pupil of the
famous scholar-calligrapher Bao Shichen
(1775— 1855). Wu was a noted philologist,
painter, master seal-carver, and calligrapher.
In both flower painting and seal carving,
Wu Tingyang influenced masters of the
younger generation, such as Zhao Zhiqian
(1829-1884) and Wu Changshuo (1844-
1927). In his calligraphy, he excelled in all
of the traditional script types. The later
calligrapher and seal-carver Xu Sangeng
(1806-1890), who specialized in copying
the Tianfa Shencan stele, was greatly in-
spired by Wu.

Unlike the frontispiece by Cheng Nanyun
(cat. no. 10), which provides a title for the
painting scroll Seven Scholars Going through
the Pass, this frontispiece by Wu Tingyang
identifies instead the calligrapher and the

content of the calligraphy handscroll.
Usually, only an established calligrapher
would dare to write a frontispiece — or be
asked to write one — for a scroll by a master
artist, particularly one by a master calligra-
pher.

Reference: Fu and Nakata 1981-83, Ming Qing, vol. 2,
pi. 109, pp. 185-86.

60

Fig. 7. Detail from rubbing of the Tiatifa detail from Xu Wei's scroll

Shencan stele.

Cliiiiese Calligraphy 61

19 Frontispiece of a Poetry Scroll by Xu Wei

seal script

by Wu Tingyang {1799-1870)
China, Qing dynasty; 1843
handscroU; ink on paper

height 31.7 cm {12V2 in); length 95.6 cm (37% in)
80.3

Four large characters forming this frontis-
piece arc written in a special type of seal
script. In writing the characters, Wu Ting-
yang began the mdividual strokes with
squarish heads and then ended some of the
strokes with long, sharp tails. These charac-
teristics, together with the calligraphcr's
introduction of squansh comers to some
turning strokes, are quite different trom
regular seal scnpt. An explanation for the
unusual script can be found in the Tianfa
Shcncan stele (see fig. 7). dating from A.D.
276, which was Wu Tingyang's model tor
the four characters. The calHgraphy on the
Tianfa Shcncan stele dates from the transi-
tional pcnod between the fully evolved
"clerical" and "standard" scripts. The new
elements in the use of brush and in the
composition of individual characters were
introduced into the older "seal" script to
achieve a unique calligraphic style. The
historical importance of the script was
recognized by scholars of the Qing dynasty
(1644-191 r); some late Qing antiquarian
calligraphers, like Wu Tingyang. copied it.

The four characters on the frontispiece of
this Freer handscroll may be translated as
"The writing of poetry by Qingteng."
Qingteng is one of the names used by Xu
Wei (1521-1593), the renowned eccentric
writer, poet, calligrapher, and, m painting,
the precursor of Shitao (1642-1707), Zhuda
(1624-1705), and the Yangzhou Eccentrics.
The main body of the Freer scroll consists
often poems in cursive script, composed
and written by Xu Wei (also known as Xu
Qingteng); the four-character frontispiece
by Wu Tingyang constitutes the title of the
scroll. The three lines of smaller calligraphy
to the left of the title provide the date and
Wu's signature:

In mid-spring of the twenty-third year of the
Daogttang reign, Wu Tingyang viewed [this
scroll by Xu Wei] at Hailing and wrote this.

From Wu's comment, wc know that he
wrote the frontispiece in 1843 when he was
forty-five years old, twenty-seven years
before his death. Compared to most of
Wu's extant works, which are from a later
period, the title on the Freer scroll may
be considered one of his early efforts.

Wu Tingyang (also known as Wu Xizai
and Wu Rangzhi) was a native of Yizheng.

Jiangsu Province. He was the pupil of the
famous scholar-calhgrapher Bao Shichen
(1775-1855). Wu was a noted philologist,
painter, master seal-carver, and calligrapher.
In both flower painting and seal carving,
Wu Tingyang influenced masters of the
younger generation, such as Zhao Zhiqian
(1829-1884) and Wu Changshuo (1844-
1927). In his calligraphy, he excelled in all
ot the traditional script types. The later
calligrapher and seal-carver Xu Sangeng
(1806-1890), who specialized in copying
the Tianfa Shencan stele, was greatly in-
spired by Wu.

Unlike the frontispiece by Cheng Nanyun
(cat. no. 10), which provides a title for the
painting scroll Seven Scholars Going through
the Pass, this frontispiece by Wu Tingyang
idendfies instead the calligrapher and the

content of the calligraphy handscroll.
Usually, only an established calligrapher
would dare to write a frontispiece — or be
asked to write one — for a scroll by a master
artist, particularly one by a master caUigra-
phcr.

Reference: Fu and Naka
pi. 109, pp. 185-86.

1981-83, Ming Qing, vol. .

60

Chinese CalHgraphy 6l

Japanese Calligraphy

In Japan as in China, calligraphy is appreciated as a fine art and a universal
cultural value. Writing is considered to reveal not only the writer's skill and
creativity, but also to embody and communicate his inner character. Although
writing in Japan began from the Chinese writing system, the requirements of
the unrelated Japanese language resulted in the invention of phonetic scripts
having no counterparts in China. The cursive form of Japanese phonetic
script (J; karia) became an artistic script of the highest order. Calligraphy in
cursive katia (J; hiragana) evolved its own forms, techniques, and aesthetics
and became one of the great national calligraphic traditions.

In the fifth century a.d., when the Chinese writing system began to be
adopted in Japan, the major Chinese scripts all had been developed, and the
basic tools and materials of calligraphy — brush, ink, paper, and silk — were
already in widespread use. At first the Japanese concentrated on learning
to read and write the characters and on studying the Chinese language with
its new and complex vocabulary. During the period from the sixth to the
eighth century, the use of Chinese characters became established in Japan,
having been encouraged by the introduction and spread of Buddhism and the
needs of a newly centralized government. By the eighth century, however,
the Japanese had begun to alter their usage of Chinese characters to accom-
modate the need to write literature in their own language. Some Chinese
characters, unaltered in structure, were used to denote sound only, rather
than to signify their meanings in Chinese. The eighth-century anthology of
Japanese poems, the Man'ydshii, was written in Chinese standard script, with
some characters to be read for sound and others for meaning.

This cumbersome system was modified between the eighth and tenth
centuries as the Japanese abbreviated Chinese standard script (J: kaisho; C:
kaishu) and cursive script (J: sosho; C: caoshu) to form more convenient and
readily distinguishable phonetic symbols (katia), each representing one syl-
lable of the Japanese language. Katakana, the phonetic script evolved from
standard script, was used for practical purposes such as marking inflections in
texts or transliterating words from foreign languages; its straight, uncon-
nected lines did not suit it for artistic expression. Hiragana, the cursive pho-
netic syllabary, had evolved by the tenth century into a convenient and inher-
ently graceful script preferred for letters, for the composition of Japanese
poetry, and for the most private, nonofficial functions.

While Chinese continued to be the language of religious texts (see cat.
no. 20) and official communication, the aristocratic culture of the late Heian
period (794-1 185), which was centered in the capital at Kyoto (then called
Heian-kyo), turned away from China and suspended diplomatic contacts
from 894 until the late twelfth century. During this period, Japanese styles
evolving in all the arts reached a classic expression.

By the early eleventh century, cursive kana {hiragana) had become an

62

artistic script completely Japanese in character and expressive qualities; it was
distinguished from Chinese calligraphy by the term wayo (Japanese manner).
Cursive kana was particularly suited to writing the short Japanese waka (or
tanka) poem of thirty-one syllables composed in lines ot five or seven syl-
lables.

The irregular line lengths and fluid relationships among the words in
waka poetry allowed the calligrapher considerable compositional freedom.
Indeed, one notable Japanese habit, already established in kaiia calligraphy of
the Heian period, is the free disposition of lines of irregular length on the
page. The writing descends from different levels, as if cascading over the
surface of the paper, rather than beginning always at the top of a column.

Within the lines, variation of the forms of characters was provided by
selecting the symbol from several that designated the same sound. In all,
only about fifty symbols would be needed to represent the syllables of the
Japanese language, but in katia calligraphy the number of symbols is much
greater. Moreover, an occasional Chinese character could be selected for a
text written predominantly in kaua, thus providing a visual accent and break
in rhythmic flow of the passage. When used in this way, the Chinese character
would be read according to its Japanese pronunciation rather than by the
Japanese transliteration of the Chinese sound.

The tradition of writing on dyed or decorated paper was well established
in the courtly culture of Heian, and is most brilliantly exemplified by the
exhibited page from the "Poems of Ki no Tsurayuki" (cat. no. 22) belonging
to the dispersed volumes called Ishiyama-gire. Written on dyed and joined
paper that forms an asymmetrical collage design decorated with scattered
patterns in silver and gold, the page represents one of the most exquisite
surviving examples of Japanese taste during the twelfth century.

Japanese poetry, calligraphy, and decorative taste are inextricably linked
in the works of calligraphy in the Japanese manner. Usually, the calligraphy
forms a superimposed and integral entity that is independent of the underly-
ing decoration. At times, however, calligraphy merges with the picture and
the two elements are fully interdependent so that one may not be understood
without the other. The unity of picture, calligraphy, and poetry is nowhere
more fully realized than in the poem-picture (J: uta-e), an invention of the
Heian period that was continued in later times and translated to the medium
of lacquer art. An outstanding example of a poem-picture is represented by
the lacquer inkstone case (cat. no. 31). Such portable cases for writing equip-
ment began to be used in Japan by the end of the Heian period and reflected
the national preference for writing many informal and spontaneous brief
letters or poems.

From the Heian period onward, two major currents of calligraphy, each
with their own models, training, and critical standards, were practiced in

Japanese Calligraphy 63

Japan. Chinese calligraphy continued to be respected, used exclusively for
specific kinds of texts, and almost exclusively preferred by some groups of
calligraphers. Japanese calligraphy continued to evolve, especially among the
aristocracy. Neither mode, however, developed completely in isolation.
When written in alternation or combination with Japanese kana, for example,
Chinese characters were usually written in a harmonious semicursive style
with simplified structures and compositions. Many of the most original
calligraphers of Japanese kana benefited from study of both Japanese and
Chinese models.

For centuries, lineages of calligraphers transmitting models and technical
knowledge provided the basis for training Japanese calligraphers. Once
trained, however, a calligrapher could evolve a personal style that would
revitalize the tradition and inspire new followers. Emperor Fushimi (1265-
13 17; see cat. no. 25) was admired for his calligraphy, which established a
new synthesis between the style of his training in the Seson-ji school and his
study of the classic Heian-period model of Fujiwara no Yukinari (also known
as Kozei, 972-1027).

A particularly creative renaissance of the Japanese arts, including the
Japanese mode of calligraphy, occurred in the early seventeenth century in the
work of three master calligraphers known as the Three Brushes of the Kan'ei
Era (1624-44) [J: Kan'ei Sampitsu]. Each in his own way responded to his
study of past masterpieces to synthesize an original personal style. Both their
calligraphic models and the poetic texts that they preferred came from the
Heian period, by this time regarded as a golden age ot Japanese culture.
In the exhibited works by Konoe Nobutada (i 565-1614), Shokado Shojo
(i 584-1639), and Hon'ami Koetsu (i 558-1637), who comprised the Three
Brushes of the Kan'ei Era, a new rhythmic and formal vitality enlivens the
transcriptions of Japanese poems. Following the Japanese tradition handed
down from the Heian period, the papers selected for their work are decorated,
but a new style of bold and often innovative designs manifests a change in
taste from the ephemeral delicacy of Heian decoration to a style that harmo-
nizes with their more energetic interpretation of the Japanese mode of callig-
raphy. Especially in Koetsu's long handscroll (cat. no. 28), the counterpoint
of the script, with its varied density and tonality and the bold silver and gold
printed motifs in the ground decoration, produce a dynamic interaction of
calligraphy and decoration that is unparalleled within the Chinese calligraphic
traditions.

Calligraphy in Chinese continued to be respected and to have an impor-
tant place in Japan, at times becoming the preferred mode for certain types of
texts. Sutras, the sacred texts of Buddhism, were always written in Chinese,
following regular rules of composition and style (see cat. no. 20). Gold and
silver inks are almost exclusively restricted to the writing of sutras. Also

Fig. 8. Detail from handscroll, cat. no.
25. Calligraphy attributed to Emperor
Fushimi, late thirteenth century. The two
poems are by Fujiwara no Shunzei from

the Shin kohiii wakailni; ink on paper limited to rcligious contcxts is the use of Indian, rather than Chinese, scripts.

decorated with gold and silver. One example of Calligraphy derived from Indian sources is the kenmn, an

altar pendant for a Buddhist temple (see cat. no. 21), which represents deities
by the character for the first sound of their names.

Interruptions in Japanese cultural and diplomatic contacts with China
provided an incomplete access to Chinese calligraphic styles. Moreover, an
evolving Japanese preference for the works of certain Chinese masters distin-
guishes Japanese calligraphy in the Chinese manner as a separate stylistic
lineage having its own national characteristics. Through the end of the Heian
period, the calligraphic models for Japanese calligraphers were those writings
or copies of writings by earlier masters that had reached Japan by the end of
the ninth century. The work of Chinese calligraphers of the Song (960-1279)
and Yuan (1279— 1368) periods gradually became familiar to Japanese writers
in the Chinese manner, after regular contact with China was resumed during
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; Ming (i 368-1644) calligraphy was
introduced to Japan in the seventeenth century.

An important class of calligraphy in Chinese is known in Japanese as
bokuseki (literally, "ink traces"), or writings by Zen (C: Chan) Buddhist
monks. Because calligraphy is a direct, personal act, the traces remaining

Japanese Calligraphy 65

from the brush of a great spiritual leader became in themselves an embodi-
ment of his learning and character. Particularly in the Zen sect, which flour-
ished in Japan from the twelfth century onward, when contact with China
was resumed, the emphasis on direct transmission of its teachings from
master to disciple endowed the writings of great masters with a special im-
portance. Large-character inscriptions written for meditation became an
important category of bokuseki. Included in this exhibition is one fme example
(cat. no. 32) ofbokuseki by Kogetsu Sogan (1574-1643), a prominent monk
of the Kyoto Zen temple, Daitoku-ji. His writing in large characters revives
a link to the work of early Zen masters that he might have studied through
the great collections belonging to his monastery.

The history of the Zen sect is linked inextricably with Chinese literature
and art. Many Chinese monks were members of Zen communities in Japan,
especially in the founding generations of each of the three major sects. Their
work, often unknown in China, is so thoroughly assimilated into the Japanese
cultural identity that some of the calligraphic works of early Chinese Chan
monks are designated in Japan as protected cultural properties. One example
of calligraphy by a Chinese monk of the Obaku (C: Huangbo) Zen sect is
included in the exhibition (cat. no. 33). An immigrant to Japan, Muan Xing-
tao (J: Mokuan Shoto, 1611-1684) had a crucial role in the transmission of
late Ming-dynasty calligraphic styles to Japan. Because of his residence in
Japan, his work is regarded as integral to the history of calligraphy in Japan
rather than in China.

In the Edo period (161 5-1868), Chinese studies were encouraged by the
policies of the Tokugawa shoguns. Within the context of scholarly study of
Chinese history, literature, and philosophy reaching into a broader segment
of Japanese society than in previous periods, the practice of Chinese calligra-
phy flourished and expanded. A new interest in archaic Chinese scripts such
as clerical script (J: reisho; C: lishu) led to its use in Japan after a long period
of neglect.

A group of painters also were inspired by the ideals of Chinese scholars
(J: bunjin; C: wenren) to paint in a manner that was closely inspired by Chinese
techniques. In calligraphy, too, they practiced Chinese styles, and adopted
the Chinese custom of inscribing paintings to commemorate the occasions
for which they were painted (see cat. no. 35). Like their Chinese counterparts,
Japanese bunjin enjoyed gathering to share their mutual interests, and would
often add their inscriptions to paintings by their colleagues.

In the millennium since the evolution of a distinct Japanese mode of
writing, the Japanese and Chinese modes have been studied and practiced by
Japanese calligraphers. Their rich cultural heritage, which has not excluded
new artistic ideas from outside their own borders, has produced unique and
important calligraphic works of great beauty. This aesthetic achievement can

be appreciated in the most informal writing in the purely Japanese mode,
such as the exhibited "sleeve-paper" inscribed with two poems (cat. no. 24),
in the powerful large-character inscriptions written in Chinese by Zen monks,
or in the remarkable synthesis from both traditions that was achieved by
Nobutada (see cat. no. 27) and Koetsu (see cat. nos. 28 and 29).

The calligraphic works selected for this exhibition, although few in
number, present a representative range of works dating from the twelfth to
the nineteenth century. Beginning with a Buddhist sutra and a leaf from one
of the greatest secular calligraphic projects surviving from the Heian period,
the exhibition includes works by later calligraphers in both the Japanese and
Chinese modes. The calligraphers represent a cross-section of the Japanese
cultural elite; Emperor Fushimi (see cat. no. 25), aristocrats (see cat. nos. 22-
24 and 27), Buddhist monks (see cat. nos. 20, 24, 26, 30, and 33), and learned
laymen (see cat. nos. 34 and 35).

The calligraphers are the carriers of a major artistic tradition that has
continually renewed itself, even in modern times. Calligraphy remains a part
of the education of every Japanese student, and a knowledge of its principles
now extends broadly into all classes of society. Their preparation to respect
and appreciate excellent calligraphy has ensured the continued vitality of a
rich and unique cultural legacy.

References: Shimizu and Rosenfield 1984; Shimizu 1983; Fontein and Hickman 1970.

Japanese Calligraphy 67

20 Buddhist Sutra: Kan-Fu^en-hosatsu-gyoho-kyo

standard script

Japan, Heian period; late 12th century
handscroll; gold and silver on indigo-dyed paper
height 25.4 cm (10 in); length 449.6 cm (176% in)
68.60

detail showing frontispiece illustration

Sutras, the scriptures transmitting the
teachmgs ot the Buddhist religion, are
intrinsically sacred. For the faithful, the
writing or recitation of the sutra texts and
the donation of materials and financial
support tor their production are acts of
religious merit that bring protection in the
present world and benefit for future exis-
tence.

Soon after its introduction to Japan from
China and Korea in the sixth century a.d..
Buddhism gained official support trom
the newly centralized government. Scripto-
ria were established for the copying of
sutras, which required quantities of precious
materials: paper, ink, knobs, wrappers, and
fine storage boxes. The copying of sutras in
the Japanese imperial or temple scriptoria
was done by professional scribes who wrote
Chinese standard script (J: kaisho; C:
kaishu) in a formal, regulated manner that
adheres faithfully to Chinese models,
preserving the sanctity and efficacy of the
text. Whether written by a monastic scribe
or by a layperson as an act of piety, the text
is transcribed verbatim, and individual
variation of the writing style is held to a
minimum.

During the Heian period (794-1 185),
under the patronage of aristocratic families,
the quest for salvation through meritorious
deeds encouraged the production of many
sets of luxuriously decorated sutras, and the
artistic quality of Buddhist sutras reached a
high point that has never been surpassed.
This handscroll belongs to a class ot sutras
written in gold or silver ink on paper
dyed indigo or purple. Sutras of this type,
often having illustrated frontispieces, were
produced in Japan from the eighth century,
following Chinese models. Thousands of
scrolls written in gold ink on dark-blue
paper are preserved in Japan from the great
projects sponsored by emperors and aristo-
crats of the Heian period.

The Kan-Fugen-bosatsu-gydbd-kyo (Sutra of
Meditation on the Bodhisattva Fugen) is
the final sutra appended to the twenty-
eight-chapter Lotus Sutra (J: Hokke-kyo or
Myoho-renge-kyo; S: Saddharma-pundarika-
sutra), which is customarily preceded by the
Murydgi-kyd. Vivid imagery and a promise
of salvation made the Lotus Sutra, together
with its opening and closing sutras, one
of the greatest and most influential texts in
East Asian Buddhism.

This scroll matches an eight-scroll set of
the Lotus Sutra that is kept in the Toshodai-
ji, a Buddhist monastery in Nara.' Follow-
ing established convention, the text is
written in columns ot seventeen characters
each. The disciplined regularity of the gold
characters written in Chinese standard
script is given emphasis by the silver lines
demarcating the margins and columns. The
frontispiece illustration (J: mikaeshi-e)
depicts the bodhisattva Fugen (S: Samanta-
bhadra, the bodhisattva of Universal Virtue)
riding his elephant as he appears to a monk
who is reading a sutra trom a handscroll.
Rendered in lines and washes ot gold and
silver inks, the deity appears as a miraculous
vision swiftly descending on clouds into
the temporal world to fulfill his promise as
protector of the Lotus Sutra:

In the latter five hundred years of the corrupt and
evil age, whoever receives and keeps this sutra I

will guard and protect . . . . Wlierever such a
one sits, pondering this sutra, I will at once
again mount the six-tusked white elephant king
and show myself to him. Thereupon, he who
receives and keeps, reads and recites the Law-
Flower Sutra [Lotus Sutra] on seeing me will
greatly rejoice and renew his zealr

1. Yoshiaki Shimizu (1981), unpublished curatorial
records for acc. no. 68.60, Office of the Registrar,
Freer Gallery of Art.

2. Lotm Sutra, chapter XXVIII. The Threefold Lotus
Sutra, translated by Bunno Kato, Yoshiro Tamura, and
Kojiro Miyasaka, with revisions by W. E. Soothill,
Wilhelm Schitfer, and Pier P. del Campana (New York
and Tokyo: Weathcrhill/Kosei, 1975), p. 340.

Published: Hempel 1983, pi. 114, p. 122; Shimada,
Akiyama, and Yamane 1979-81, vol. 2: Emakimono, pi.
107 and pp. 158-59; TGA Handbook 1976, p. 93; FGA
U: Japan 1974, pi. 1 and p. 153; Shimada 1969, vol. 2,
pt. I, pi. 32 and vol. 2, pt. 2, pi. 46.

68

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Japanese Calligraphy 6g

21 Altar Pendant (Keman)

Sanskrit, Siddha script

Japan, Kamakura period (i 185-1333)

bronze with gold and silver

height 44.5 cm {17V2 in); width 31.4 cm {izVs m)
74-13

The keman is a pendant ornament that is
suspended above the altar of a Buddhist
temple. Made of lasting materials such as
wood, painted leather, or bronze embel-
lished with gold and silver, the floral scroll
motifs and tied cords of the keman derive
from the garlands of fresh flowers custom-
arily offered to deities in India, where
Buddhism originated. On this keman, exe-
cuted in relief against openwork lotus
scrolls, four individual phonetic characters
in the graceful Indian script known as
Siddha appear in gold, enclosed by silver
circles surmounting pedestals in the form ot
open lotuses.

In Esoteric Buddhism (J: mikkyo), charac-
ters written in the ancient Indian Sanskrit
language recalled the original tcachmgs
of the Buddha and were considered to be
imbued with spiritual power. In Buddhist
texts, which are written m the Chinese
language throughout East Asia, the orthog-
raphy of Sanskrit occasionally is used,
especially for transliterating the syllables of
magical incantations (S: dharant) or the
mystical syllables or phrases (S: mantra) that
were recited for spiritual union with a deity.

On sacred objects or paintings, a single
written Sanskrit character may represent a
Buddhist deity. The symbolic representation
of the deity as a written character rather
than in pictorial form is known in Japanese
by the term shilji (S: bija), literally meaning
"seed character." Implicit in this term is
the concept of the manifestation of each
deity from an essential force, or "seed."

Each of the four Indian characters on this
keman surmounts a lotus pedestal, parallel-
ing the conventional iconographic represen-
tation of a deity seated or standing on a
lotus dais. On the illustrated side of the
pendant, the syllable "bhai" appears twice
as the symbol for a deity whose Sanskrit
name begins with that syllable. On the back
of the pendant the characters "ba" and
"kya" represent two other deities.' Implicit
in this mode of symbolic representation of
the deity is the belief that the sound of the
recited name has the power to invoke the
deity.

I. Three deities associated with protection may be
represented by the syllable "bhai": Bhaisajya-guru (J:
Yakushi Nyorai), the Buddha of Healing; Bhaisajya-
raja-bodhisattva (J: Yakuo bosatsu); and Vaisravana (J:
Bishamonten). "Ba" represents Varuna (J: Suiten).
"Kya" may represent Ekaadsamukha (J: Juichimen
Kannon) or Asvaghosa (J: Memyo bosatsu). See Sawa
Ryuken, Bulsuzd zuteii (Tokyo, 1962), pp. 281-84.

Published: Murray 1979, pp. 53-54.

70

Japanese CalJigrapliy 71

22 Page from the Ishiyama-gire: Poems ofKi no Tsurayuki

cursive hiragaiia script

traditionally attributed to Fujiwara no Sadanobu (1088-1156)
Japan, Heian period; early 12th century

panel-mounted album page; ink, silver, and gold on assembled dyed paper

height 20.3 cm (8 in); width 16. i cm {6Vu, in)

69.4

Written with a long, slender brush, calligra-
phy in the flowing hiragaiia script that was
developed during the Heian period (794-
118 5) for phonetic representation of the
Japanese language reached a high aesthetic
standard that was admired and emulated by
later writers. The refined taste of the aris-
tocratic patrons of the arts is expressed
in the beauty of their writing and in the
richly decorated papers produced to re-
ceive it.

This page is one leaf from a volume of
poems that once belonged to a luxuriously
decorated thirty-nine-volume transcription
of the Sanjurokuiiiii-shu (Anthology of the
Thirty-Six Poets), a collection compiled by
Fujiwara no Kinto (996-1041). With the
exception of two volumes sold in 1929, the
set remains in the Nishi Hongan-ji, a Kyoto
Buddhist temple. The separated sheets of
the two volumes now dispersed are known
as the Ishiyama-gire (Ishiyama Fragments), a
name that comes from an earlier location
of the temple in Osaka.

Although a few of the volumes in the set
are later replacements, the surviving vol-
umes from the original project executed in
about 1 1 12 are among the finest and most
elaborate calligraphic works surviving from
the Heian period. The project employed
twenty accomplished calligraphers, each of
whom wrote one or more volumes.

No effort was spared in preparing papers
of outstanding quality decorated with a
variety of techniques, including dyeing;
printing with color and with mica powder;
painting with silver, gold, and occasional
color; ink marbling; applying silver or gold
leaf; and assembling papers in a collage.
Although some of the decorative techniques
reflect the prestige of Chinese papers im-
ported for calligraphy, others appear to
represent a novel approach to the use of fine
materials. Many craftsmen and painters
must have been involved at great expense in
the production of papers for the project. In
the surviving volumes and fragments of this
manuscript, the consummate skill of Japa-
nese paper craftsmen and decorators of the
late Heian period is most beautifully pre-
served.

The page in the Freer Gallery comes from
one of the two dispersed volumes of the
Ishiyama-gire: part two of the Tsiirayiiki-shu ,
the selected poems of Ki no Tsurayuki

(872?-ca. 946). It is a rare example of one of
the most complex types of ornamented
paper in the anthology. Another page was
once joined to this one along the righthand
edge, forming a unified design when the
volume was open. Colored papers of purple,
yellow, and white are cut or torn and joined
along their edges to form a collage {tstigi-
gami), then decorated with scattered patterns
painted in silver and embellished with
flakes of gold and silver leaf The delicate
silver motifs of insects, grasses, and leaves
are typical of late Heian-pcriod decorative
arts, appearing also in other media such as
lacquer. Strewn in an apparently random
manner, they suggest the transient phenom-
ena of the natural world.

The slender lines of poetry are written
over this evanescent surface. They, too, are
composed irregularly, with lines of different
lengths beginning and ending at different
levels. The two poems, numbers 603 and
604 in the anthology,' are in the thirty-one-
syllable Japanese form called waka (or
taiika). The first poem reads:

Kitio made
Aimishi hito no
Kyo naki wa
Yama no kumo to zo
Tanabiki ni kerii

One whom I met
Until yesterday
Is gone today,
Swept away
Like mountain
clouds

The second poem continues the theme of
mourning for a lost friend.

The calligraphy of this volume is tradi-
tionally attributed to Fujiwara no Sadanobu,
who was the fifth-generation head of the
Scson-ji lineage of calligraphers that had its
roots in the work of Fujiwara no Yukinari
(also known as Kozei, 972-1027). The
Seson-ji lineage was the dominant carrier of
the elegant style of Heian court calligraphy
for more than five centuries. - The skill of
a master calligrapher is apparent in the
expressive control of the swiftly moving
brush that results in vivid contrasts between
the accents of ink at the beginning of each
verse and the graceful, attenuated phrases
that follow.

1. Kyusojin 1966, p. 152.

2. Shimizu and Roscnfield 19X4. pp. 47-4><; Koniatsu
1970, vol. 1, pp. I X 1-230.

References: Egami Yasushi, unpublished colloquy.
Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, The
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., January 7,
1982; Shimizu and Rosenfield 1984, pp. 54-57; Kyuso-
jin 1966.

Published: Henipel 1983, pi. 131, p. 141; Shiniada,
Akiyama, and Yamane 1979-81, vol. 2; Eiiuikiniono, pi.
43 and p. 142; fGA Iljaptin 1974, pi. 67 and p. 173.

72

Japanese Calligraphy 73

23 Portrait of the Poet Saigu no Nyogo

from the Agedatami version of "Thirty-Six Immortal Poets"

cursive Japanese hiragana and semicursive Chinese scripts

calHgraphy traditionally attributed to Fnjiwara no Tameie (i 198— 1275)

painting traditionally attributed to Fujiwara no Nobuzane (ii76?-i265?)

Japan, Kamakura period; 13 th century

segment of a handscroll mounted as a panel; ink and color on paper

height 27.9 cm (11 in); width 51. i cm (2oV'8 in)

50.24

This imaginary portrait of the poet Saigu
no Nyogo (929-985), inscribed with a brief
biography and a verse of her poetry, is one
of three segments in the Freer Gallery of
Art from the Agedatami sequence ot
"Thirty-Six Immortal Poets" (J; Sanjurok-
kaseii).^ Originally in handscroll form,
the Agedatami sequence, named for the
raised mat on which each poet sits, is one of
the two earliest surviving works depicting
the poets themselves in association with
their poems. Beginning in the literary and
artistic circles ot the court, the genre known
as kasen-e (pictures of Immortal Poets) was
continued for centuries, gradually reaching
a wider audience and eventually becoming a
subject for popular prints during the nine-
teenth century. -

The text to the right of the portrait
begins with a biography, written in Chinese
characters (katiji), the mode of writing that
continued to be used in Japan for official
or historical texts even after the develop-
ment of phonetic katia scripts. The three
lines of Chinese characters are followed by a
thirty-one-syllable waka poem written in
two lines of cursive hiragana:

Koto no ne ni

Mine no matsukaze

Kayourashi

Izure no wo yori
Shirabesome^

With the sound of the

koto
The wind in the

pines
Of the moutitain

peak
Seems to ask
With what note shall

I begin?

The strongly modulated calligraphy is one
of three individual writers' styles that can
be distinguished in the sixteen surviving
segments of the Agedatami scroll. In com-
parison to the others, the writing in this
segment preserves some of the attenuated,
flowing quality that is also seen in the page
from the Tsurayuki-shu (cat. no. 22).

The Imperial Princess Saigu no Nyogo is
one of several women included among the
Thirty-Six Immortal Poets, a reminder
of the important literary achievements of
women aristocrats during the Heian period
(794-1185). In the painting, one of the

finest of all surviving poet-portraits, she is
depicted reclining on a raised mat {ageda-
tami). Her voluminous silk robes are worn
in twelve layers, carefully selected for color
and pattern, and her hair is worn long and
unbound, cascading in another layer over
her robes. On the panel behind her, a
painting depicts the rounded hills of the
Japanese landscape. In the foreground, her
inkstone, brushes, and water-dropper are
held in a lacquered case (J: suzurihako) that
is decorated in silver and gold. Just visible
beneath her billowing right sleeve are what
appear to be sheets of decorated paper of
outstanding quality, precious materials
available only to writers of the highest
status. In this small portrait that is really an
imaginary re-creation of the image of a
poet-princess, the luxurious world of the
Heian court poet is faithfully preserved.

1. The other two segments. Freer Gallery ot Art acc.
nos. 50.23 and 50.25, respectively, depict Onakatomi
no Yonmoto (885-957) and Minamoto no Kintada (d.
948).

2. Maribeth Graybill, "The Immortal Poets" in Shmiizu
and Rosenfield 1984, pp. 96-97.

3. Shui wakashu 451 in Watanabe Daizaburo and Watan-
abe Fumio, compilers, Kokka taikan, vol. i: kashiihu,

p. 63.

References: Maribeth Graybill in Shimizu and Rosen-
field 1984, chapter 4, pp. 96-1 1 1; Maribeth Graybill,
"Kasen-e: An Investigation mto the Origms of the Tra-
dition of Poet Pictures in Japan" (Ph.D. diss., Univer-
sity of Michigan, 1983).

Published: Shimada, Akiyama, and Yamane 1979-81,
vol. 2: Einakimorio, pi. 39 and pp. 140-42; Mori Torn,
ed., Sanjiirokkasen-e , vol. 19 of Nihon emakimono zenshii
(Tokyo: Kadokawa shoten, 1979), pi. 4; FGA Handbook
1976, p. 99; FGA II: Japan 1974, pi. 10 and p. 154; Shi-
mada 1969, vol. 2, pt. I, pi. 46.

74

Japanese Calligraphy 75

24 Poetry Offering to the Kasuga Shrine (Kasuga kaishi)

cursive Japanese hiragaua and semicursive Chinese scripts

by Jitsuin (act. ca. mid-i3th century)

Japan, Kamakura period; ca. 1243

hanging scroll; ink on paper

height 29.1 cm {iiVh in); width 43.1 cm (17 in)

1984-35

Furusato no
Mukashi no hatia wo

Machimitsutsi4
Yuki kawashita ni
munw no shita ka to

I am waiting to see
The flowers of long
ago

In my old home.
Beneath the plum,
Has the snow
transformed?

Miyoshino ya
Sakisou hana no

Shira kumo ni
Kakurete kasumi

Haru no yo no tsuki^

Like lovely Yoshino-
The flowers begin to

bloom
In a white cloud
The spring night's

moon
Is concealed in mist

Paper carried in the clothing so that it
would always be ready for writing was
called kaishi ("sleeve-paper" or "bosom-
paper"). The aristocratic culture that had
reached its fullest expression in the Heian
period (794-1185) demanded that poetry be
written frequently. The kaishi inscribed on
these occasions were usually not intention-
ally preserved but were reused for other
writing. In later times, however, the original
writing on kaishi came to be appreciated by
practitioners of tea, who had them mounted
on scrolls for display in the tearoom.

The group of calligraphy referred to as
the Kasuga kaishi was presented by various
members of the Fujiwara family to their
tutelary deities at the Kasuga Shrine in
Nara. In about 1244 the sheets were put to
use for transcribing the text of the eighth-
century poetry anthology Man'yoshii, which
was written on the back of the poem-
offerings. Later, the calligraphy of the poetic
offerings came again to be valued, and the
sheets were separated from the books
and remounted.

This sheet of paper shows the typically
damaged condition of the Kasuga kaishi
sheets, which resulted from the attempt to
remove as much as possible of the Man'yo-
shii text from the back of the page before
mounting it for display. Faint traces of the
Chinese regular script characters on the
back can be seen.

In elegant cursive hiragana script of a
conservative style with direct antecedents in
the Heian period are inscribed two thirty-
one-syllable waka poems, entitled, respec-
tively, "Beneath a Plum Tree" and "Spring
Moon":

Despite the damaged condition of the paper,
the classic forms and gentle grace of the
calligraphy can be appreciated. This poem-
sheet attests to the high level of accompHsh-
ment achieved in calligraphy by many
members of the Fujiwara family. The
calligrapher Jitsuin can be identified as a
priest of the Mii-dera (Onjo-ji)."*

1. Readings for the Japanese poems were provided by
Professor Yoshiaki Shimizu of Princeton University.

2. The scenery of Yoshino in southern Yamato Province
is famous for its beauty in the spring, when the hills
are covered with cherry blossoms.

3. Toin Kinsada, Soiipi hunmyaku, vol. I, in Kuroita
Katsumi, ed., Kokushi laikei (Tokyo: Yoshikawa ko-
bunkan, 1977), vol. 43, pp. 147 and 149.

References: Shimizu and Rosenfield 1984, p. 64; Ro-
senfield, Cranston, and Cranston 1973, pp. 135-37.

76

Japanese Calligraphy 77

25 Transcription of Poems from the Shin kokin wakashu
(New Anthology of Ancient and Modern Japanese Verse)

cursive Japanese hiragaiia, semicursivc and cursive Chinese scripts

attributed to Emperor Fushimi (1265-1317)

Japan, Kamakura period; late 13th century

handscroll; ink on paper decorated with gold and silver

height 29.8 cm (ii^A in); length 188 cm (74 in)

76.7

On paper richly decorated in silver and
gold, selected poems from the imperial an-
thology Shin kokin wakashu are inscribed.
The semicursive and cursive Chinese char-
acters and Japanese hiragana phonetic script
are written fluently but are arranged spa-
ciously, with relatively few connected
characters. In comparison to other examples
of calligraphy in hiragana, the relatively
large and widely spaced cursive script of
this calligraphy reveals a distinctive personal
style.

The beauty of the writing is enhanced by
the landscape design of clouds and sand-
banks executed in gold and silver pigments
and gold leaf cut to different shapes and
applied to the surface of the paper. Birds
and butterflies appear to hover in the land-
scape. The Japanese appreciation for the
aesthetics of calligraphy written on paper
decorated with an independent design was
already well established among court writ-
ers of the Heian period (794-1185), and was
continued and periodically revived. The
landscape design in shimmering gold and
silver, once brighter than it appears today,
creates the illusion of dissolving the flat
surface plane of the paper so that the written
poems appear to float in space.

In the illustrated segments from the
opening passages of the scroll are two waka
verses of thirty-one syllables each by cour-
tier Fujiwara no Ariie (11 55-1216) and
Priest Saigyo (11 18-1206). The first verse is
described in the headnotes as having been
written at the Kasuga poetry competition,
on the subject of the wind in the pines.
Listening to the sound of the wind in the
garden pines, the author wonders whether
his sleeves are wet from tears or from rain.'
The second poem expresses the lonely
isolation of a priest who has renounced the
world and longs for a companion.- Other
poems transcribed in this selection are
by Fujiwara no Shunzei (11 14-1204), Fuji-
wara no Tcika (also known as Sadaie, 1162-
1241), and Fujiwara no Yoshitsunc (1169-
1241).'

The calligraphy is unsigned, but is
ascribed to Emperor Fushimi, v/hose name
appears on a red paper label for the scroll
that was written, according to an accom-

panying certificate, by Emperor Gonara
(1496-1557). Stylistically, the writing
corresponds closely to the transcription of
poems from the Gosen wakashCt imperial
anthology (compiled ca. 951), dated 1294
when Fushimi was a young man of twenty-
nine.'* His writing at that time follows
faithfully the style of Fujiwara no Yukinari
(also known as Kozei, 972-1027), whose
writing in sogana (cursive hiragana), with its
graceful turns and loops, became a classic
model for later calligraphers.

In time, however, Emperor Fushimi
evolved his own calligraphic style that was
admired by his contemporaries and by later
writers. His study of the work of Chinese
calligraphers of the Song (960-1279) and
Yuan (1279-1368) dynasties influenced his
writing. In comparison to earlier sogana
writings, in the work of Emperor Fushimi
the sequences of characters are less con-
nected, the forms more balanced, and the
brushwork more vigorous. This scroll,
with its luxurious decoration and beautiful
writing, is an outstanding work by one of
Japan's most accomplished imperial calligra-
phers.

1. Shin kokin wakashil XVII: 1636 in NKBT, vol. 28
(1958), p. 335-

2. Ibid.: 1657, p. 339.

3. Shunzei: ibid. X: 932-33, p. 207. Teika: ibid. X: 934,
p. 207. Yoshitsiine: ibid. X: 936.

4. Yoshiaki Shiniizu (1979), unpublished curatorial rec-
ords for acc. no. 76.7, pp. 13-15, Office of the Regis-
trar, Freer Gallery of Art. Emperor Fushimi's
transcription of the Gosen wakashu is published in Juyo
hiinkazai (Tokyo: Mainichi shimbunsha, 1976), vol. 18,
calligraphy I, color plate 8. A fragment known as Chi-
kugo-gire is illustrated in Komatsu 1970, vol. I, p. 621.

References: Shimizu and Rosenfield 1984, pp. 49-50
and 66-67; Yoshiaki Shimizu (1979), unpublished cura-
torial records for acc. no. 76.7, Office of the Registrar,
Freer Gallery of Art.

Published: Yoshiaki Shimizu 111 Murray 1979, p. 56;
Komatsu 1970, vol. 2, pis. 237 (l) and (2), p. 71.

78

25 Transcription of Poems from the Shin kokiii wakaslnl
(New Anthology of Ancient and Modern Japanese Verse)

cursive Japanese Imagatia. semicursive and cursive Chir
attributed to Emperor Fushimi (1265-13 17)
Japan, Kamakura period; late 13th century
handscroll; ink on paper decorated with gold and silvc
height 29.8 cm {iiVa in); length 188 cm (74 in)
76.7

On paper richly decorated in silver and
gold, selected poems from the ipiperial an-
thology Shin kokin imkashil are inscribed.
The semicursive and cursive Chinese char-
acters and Japanese hiragana phonetic script
arc written fluently but are arranged spa-
ciously, with relatively few connected
characters. In comparison to other examples
of calligraphy in Itiragana, the relatively
large and widely spaced cursive scnpt of
this calligraphy reveals a distmctive personal
style.

The beauty of the writing is enhanced by
the landscape design of clouds and sand-
banks executed in gold and silver pigments
and gold leaf cut to different shapes and
applied to the surface of the paper. Birds
and butterflies appear to hover in the land-
scape. The Japanese appreciation for the
aesthetics of calligraphy written on paper
decorated with an independent design was
already well established among court writ-
ers of the Hcian period (794-1185), and was
continued and periodically revived. The
landscape design in shimmering gold and
silver, once brighter than it appears today,
creates the illusion of dissolving the flat
surface plane of the paper so that the written
poems appear to float in space.

In the illustrated segments from the
opening passages of the scroll are two waka
verses of thirty-one syllables each by cour-
tier Fujiwara no Anie (1155-1216) and
Priest Saigyo (i 1 18-1206). The first verse is
described in the headnotcs as having been
written at the Kasuga poetry competition,
on the subject of the wind in the pines.
Listening to the sound of the wind in the
garden pines, the author wonders whether
his sleeves are wet from tears or from rain.'
The second poem expresses the lonely
isolation of a priest who has renounced the
world and longs for a companion." Other
poems transcribed in this selection are
by Fujiwara no Shunzei (11 14-1204), Fuji-
wara no Teika (also known as Sadaie, 1 162-
1241), and Fujiwara no Yoshitsune (1169-
1241).'

The calhgraphy is unsigned, but is
ascribed to Emperor Fushimi, whose name
appears on a red paper label for the scroll
that was written, according to an accom-

panying certificate, by Emperor Gonara
(1496-1557). Stylistically, the writing
corresponds closely to the transcription of
poems from the Goseii ivakashi't imperial
anthology (compiled ca. 951), dated 1294
when Fushimi was a young man of twenty-
nine.^ His writing at that time follows
faithfully the style of Fujiwara no Yukinari
(also known as Kozei, 972-1027), whose
writing in sogana (cursive hiragana), with its
graceful turns and loops, became a classic
model for later calligraphers.

In time, however, Emperor Fushimi
evolved his own calligraphic style that was
admired by his contemporaries and by later
writers. His study of the work of Chinese
calligraphers of the Song (960-1279) and
Yuan (1279-1368) dynasties influenced his
writing. In comparison to earlier sogana
writings, in the work of Emperor Fushimi
the sequences of characters arc less con-
nected, the forms more balanced, and the
brushwork more vigorous. This scroll,
with its luxurious decoration and beautiful
writing, is an outstanding work by one of
Japan's most accomplished imperial calligra-
phers.

1. Sbm kokiti wakaslm XVll: 1636 in NKBT. vol. 28

(■9s8), p- as

2. (bid.: 1657, p. 339.

3. Shunzci. ibid. X: 932-33. p. 207. Teika; ibid. X: 93+.

p. 207. Yoshit

: ibid, X: 936.

4. Yoshiaki Shimizu {1979}. unpublished curatorial rec-
ords for acc- no 76,7. pp. 13-15, Office of the Regis-
trar. Freer Gallery of Art Emperor Fushinns
transcnption of ihc Goscn wakashii is published in Juyo
f-imfcoem (Tokyo: Mainichi shimbunsha, 1976), vol. 18,
calligraphy 1. color plate 8, A fragment known as Chi-
kugo-gire is illustrated in Komatsu 1970. vol, 1. p. 621.

References: Shimizu and Rosenfield 1984. pp. 49-50
and 66-67; Yoshiaki Shimizu {1979}, unpublished cura-
torial records for acc, no. 76.7, Office of the Registrar.
Freer Gallery of Art.

Published: Yoshiaki Shimizu in Murray 1979, p. 56;
Komatsu 1970, vol. 2, pis. 237 (i) and (2}, p. 71.

Japanese Calligraphy 79

26 Transcription of the Eiga taigai (Essentials of Poetry) by Fujiwara no Teika

cursive Japanese hiragana and semicursive Chinese scripts
by Shokado Shojo (i 584-1639)
Japan, Edo period; ca. 1638-39

handscroll; ink on paper decorated with gold and silver
height 27.2 cm (ioy4 in); length 516.6 cm (203'/2 in)
81. 1

The smooth, burnished paper {]: gampishi)
of this long handscroll is decorated with
irregularly placed bands of silver and gold
suggesting clouds or mist. Although less
elaborate than other illustrated examples of
decorated Japanese paper, the ornamentation
of this scroll reflects the Japanese tradition
of writing poetry on beautiful papers that
was transmitted from the Heian period
(794-1185).

The calligraphy alternates between pas-
sages written in semicursive Chinese char-
acters (J: kanji) and passages written in
cursive phonetic Japanese hiragam script.
The prose passages are written in kamhiin, a
form of Chinese adapted to Japanese read-
ing, whereas the poems selected to illustrate
the critical essay are suitably rendered in
phonetic Japanese. The broad brush strokes
and regular spacing of the larger Chinese
characters contrast aesthetically to the long,
connected sequences of Japanese hiragana.

Eiga taigai (Essentials of Poetry),' prob-
ably composed in about 1209, is a guide to
the composition of Japanese poetry written
by Fujiwara no Teika (also known as Sadaie,
1162-1241), whose critical writings and
selection of outstanding verses became the
standard by which all later Japanese poems
were composed and judged. In the brief
preface, Teika admonishes the poet first to
consider originahty of the emotions, then to
study the great poems of earlier times.
Among the works he advises studying are
three imperial anthologies: Kokin imkashu
(a.d. 905), Gosen wakashil (ca. a.d. 951),
and Shili wakashu (ca. 1005-8). In addition,
he mentions the Anthology of the Thirty-
Six Poets {Saujurokimin-shu) [see cat. no.
22]; the tenth-century Japanese poetic
romance Ise monogatari (Tales of Ise); and
the Chinese poetry of Bojuyi (772-846).

In the final passage of the preface, Teika
concludes:

There are no teachers of Japanese poetry. But
they who take the old poems as their teachers,
steep their minds in the old style, and learn their
words from the masters of former time — who of
them will fail to write poetry?-^

In accordance with Teika's views on the
primacy of the poems themselves as teach-
ers, the preface is followed by 103 selected
poems from various anthologies.

Like the texts he has chosen to transcribe,
Shokado's calligraphy in this scroll, espe-
cially the cursive hiragana passages, is
profoundly linked to models of the Heian
period. Although trained in the mode of the
Shoren-in school of calligraphy that was
influential beginning in the fourteenth
century, he turned in his later years toward
the study of earlier calligraphy from the
Heian period, when Japanese hiragana script
had reached its classic form. His later kana
calligraphy is stylistically close to Heian
models such as the celebrated eleventh-
century Koya-gire manuscript of the Kokin
wakashu that is associated with the master
calligrapher Fujiwara no Yukinari (also
known as Kozei, 972-1027).

Shokadd's calligraphy in the illustrated
scroll corresponds stylistically to writings
of his late years. His colophon at the end
(far left) of the scroll indicates that he wrote
it at the request of Hayashi Razan (1583-
1657), a Confucian scholar who served as
tutor to the Tokugawa shoguns. A letter to
Shokado recorded in Kazan's collected
works thanks him for sending paintings and
calligraphy, including this scroll. The letter
dated in the fourth month of 1639 dates this
scroll within the last year of Shokado's life,
when he was living in retirement at a hut
called "Shokado."^

1. The Japanese text of the Eiga taigai, with annotations,
is pubhshed in NKBT, vol. 65 (1961), pp. 114-23.

2. Ryusaku Tsunoda, Wilham Theodore de Bary, and
Donald Keene, Sources of Japanese Tradition (New York
and London: Columbia University Press, 1958), p. 180.

3. Yoshiaki Shimizu (1981), unpublished curatorial rec-
ords for acc. no. 81. i, Office of the Registrar, Freer
Gallery of Art.

> ^

dct.i

80

Japanese Calligraphy

26 Transcription of the Eiga taigai (Essentials of Poetry) by Fujiwara no Teika

cursive Japanese hiragana and semicursive Chinese scripts
by Shokado Shojo (1584-1639)
Japan, Edo period; ca. 1638-39

handscroll; ink on paper decorated with gold and silver
height 27.2 cm {ioy4 in); length 516.6 cm {201V2 in)

The smooth, burnished paper (J: gampishi)
of this long handscroll is decorated with
irregularly placed bands of silver and gold
suggesting clouds or mist. Although less
elaborate than other illustrated examples of
decorated Japanese paper, the ornamentation
of this scroll reflects the Japanese tradition
of writing poetry on beautiful papers that
was transmitted from the Heian period
{794-1185).

The calligraphy alternates between pas-
sages written in semicursive Chinese char-
acters (J: kanji) and passages written in
cursive phonetic Japanese hiragatia script.
The prose passages are written in katnbun, a
form of Chinese adapted to Japanese read-
ing, whereas the poems selected to illustrate
the critical essay arc suitably rendered in
phonetic Japanese. The broad brush strokes
and regular spacing of the larger Chinese
characters contrast aesthetically to the long,
connected sequences of Japanese hiragatia.

Eiga taigai {Essentials of Poetry),' prob-
ably composed in about 1209, is a guide to
the composition of Japanese poetry written
by Fujiwara no Teika {also known as Sadaie,
1162-1241), whose critical writings and
selection of outstanding verses became the
standard by which all later Japanese poems
were composed and judged. In the brief
preface, Teika admonishes the poet first to
consider originality of the emotions, then to
study the great poems of earlier times.
Among the works he advises studying are
three imperial anthologies: Kokin wakashu
(a.d. 905), GoiCM wakashu {ca. a.d. 951),
and Shui wakashu {ca. 1005-8). In addition,
he mentions the Anthology of the Thirty-
Six Poets {Sanjurokuiiin-shu) [see cat. no.
22); the tenth-century Japanese poetic
romance he motwgalari {Tales of Ise); and
the Chinese poetry of Bojuyi (772-846).

In the final passage of the preface, Teika
concludes:

There are no teachers of Japanese poetry. But
they who take the old poems as their teachers,
steep their minds in the old style, and learn their
words from the masters of former time — who of
them will fail to write poetry?-

In accordance with Teika 's views on the
primacy of the poems themselves as teach-
ers, the preface is followed by 103 selected
poems from various anthologies.

Like the texts he has chosen to transcribe,
Shokado's calligraphy in this scroll, espe-
cially the cursive hiragana passages, is
profoundly linked to models of the Heian
period. Although trained in the mode of the
Shorcn-in school of calligraphy that was
influential beginning in the fourteenth
century, he turned in his later years toward
the study of earlier calligraphy from the
Heian period, when Japanese hiragana script
had reached its classic form. His later ^.'ijrjii
calligraphy is stylistically close to Heian
models such as the celebrated eleventh-
century Kdya-gire manuscript of the Kokin
wakashu that is associated with the master
calligraphcr Fujiwara no Yukinan {also
known as Kozei, 972-1027).

Shokado's caDigraphy in the illustrated
scroll corresponds stylistically to writings
of his late years. His colophon at the end
(far left) of the scroll indicates that he wrote
it at the request of Hayashi Razan {1583-
1657), a Confucian scholar who served as
tutor to the Tokugawa shoguns. A letter to
Shokadd recorded in Razan's collected
works thanks him for sending paintings and
calligraphy, including this scroll. The letter
dated in the fourth month of 1639 dates this
scroll within the last year of Shokado's life,
when he was living in retirement at a hut
called "Shokado."'

1. The Japanese text of the Eiga taigai, \
is published in NKBT, vol. 65 {1961), pp. 114-23.

2. Ryusaku Tsunoda, William Theodore dc Bary. and
Donald Kccnc, Sources of Japanese Tradition (New York
and London: Columbia University Press, 1958), p. 180.

J. Yoshiaki Shimizu (1981), unpublished curaiorial rec-
ords for acc, no. 81. i, Office of the Registrar, Freer
Gallery of Art.

Japanese Calligraphy 8i

27 Screen Mounted with Six Poem-sheets: Verses from the Wakan roeishu

cursive Japanese hiragana and semicursive Chinese scripts
by Konoe Nobutada (1565-1614)
Japan, Momoyama period (i 573-161 5)

four-panel screen; ink on paper decorated with gold and silver

screen: height 69.5 cm {ijY^ in); width 46.2 cm ( 18^/4 in)

poem-sheets approximately: height 21 cm (8'/4 in); width 17.9 cm (7'/i6 in)

81.16

Small rectangular sheets of decorated paper
(shikishi) and narrow strips {tanzakH) were
often used by Japanese calligraphers for
transcribing individual waka poems. For
preservation and enjoyment, these lovely
small works were mounted on hanging
scrolls, in albums, or on folding paper
screens of various dimensions.

On this small folding screen, six shikishi
from a former set of ten have been pasted.
A label on the back of the screen notes that
it was used when tea was served. A low
screen placed on the tatami matted floor
where guests and host would sit has the
dual function of defining an intimate space
within a larger room and of making that
space an aesthetically pleasing environment,
suitable to the occasion.

Three of the poem-sheets (the first,
fourth, and sixth, reading from the right)
have calligraphy in semicursive Chinese
characters, distinguishable by their broad
brushwork and regular proportions and
spacing. The other three sheets are written
with cursive Japanese hiragana script —
composed in relatively large scale — with an
unusually wide spacing between lines. The
poems are selected from a Japanese anthol-
ogy of alternating Chinese and Japanese
poems, the Wakan roeishU (Anthology
of Chinese and Japanese Poems for Recita-
tion), compiled by Fujiwara no Kinto (966-
1041). The alternating Chinese and Japanese
poems in the anthology provide a text that

displays the proficiency of the calligrapher
in writing the contrasting Japanese phonetic
script and Chinese characters in close
juxtaposition.

The identity of the calligrapher, Konoe
Nobutada, is indicated by two labels
attached to the screen. Born to a family of
Kyoto aristocrats, a branch family of the
powerful Fujiwara who dominated political
and cultural life in the Heian period (794-
1185), he was trained in the conservative
calligraphic style of the Shoren-in school. In
his later work, he achieved a dynamic and
expressive style that distinguished him,
together with Shokado (i 584-1639; see cat.
no. 26) and Koetsu (i 558-1637; see cat.
nos. 28 and 29), as one of the Three Brushes
of the Kan'ei Era (1624-44) [J: Kan'ei
Sampitsu].

Like Shokado, Nobutada studied the
work of a great Japanese master calligrapher,
assimilating aspects of the master's style to
create a distinctive personal synthesis.
The dynamic style of Nobutada's later work
shows the influence of his close study of
the work of Fujiwara no Teika (also known
as Sadaie, 1 162-1241). From Teika's style
Nobutada adopted the habit of holding the
brush tip diagonally rather than in a cen-
tered position, the former being a technique
that increases the contrasts between thick
and thin brush strokes and emphasizes the
changes of direction. Pronounced variations
between spacious and narrowly compressed

compositions of individual characters is
evident in both the Chinese and Japanese
passages. The characteristics of Nobutada's
mature style, evident in the six poems on
this screen, were referred to in later times as
the "Sanmyaku-in" mode, after Nobutada's
posthumous Buddhist title.

References: Shimizu and Rosenfield 1984, pp. 204-5
and 212-15; Komatsu 1981; Yoshiaki Shimizu (1981),
unpublished curatorial records for acc. no. 81.16,
Office of the Registrar, Freer Gallery of Art; Komatsu
1970, vol. I, pp. 46-78.

poem-slicct troiii screen; Chinese verse

82

poem-sheet from screen; Japanese verse

Japanese Calligrapliy 83

28 Poems from the Kokin wakashu (Anthology of Ancient and Modem Japanese Verse)

mixed scripts: cursive Japanese hiragana with cursive Chinese scripts

calHgraphy by Hon'ami Koetsu (1558-1637)

printed designs by Tawaraya Sotatsu (act. ca. 1 600-1 640)

Japan, late Momoyama to early Edo period; early 17th century

handscroll; ink, gold, and silver on paper

height 33.0 cm (13 in); length 994.2 cm (43o'yi6 in)

03-309

When purchased by Charles Lang Freer in
1903, the sheets of paper now attached in
sequence to form a handscroll were
mounted separately on a set of four sliding
doors (J: fusuma)^ A painting on the paper
surfaces of the opposite sides of the doors
depicts a large pond populated with man-
darin ducks. In 1955, after recognizing that
the sheets of calligraphy formed a continu-
ous sequence. Dr. Harold P. Stern, then
curator of Japanese art at the Freer Gallery,
had them removed from the door panels
and restored to form a handscroll.

Although there are a few slight losses at
the edges of some sheets, the scroll pre-
serves a consecutive sequence of poems
selected from the imperial anthology Kokin
wakashu (Anthology of Ancient and Modern
Japanese Verse, compiled a.d. 905). The
twenty-six poems are numbers 619 through
644 from Book XIII (Love Poems 3) of the
anthology.- Since the first sheet of paper
in the present scroll is very short, with only
two lines of writing, it seems probable that
the original scroll would have included the

three missing poems from the beginning of
Book XIII. It is also possible that some
additional poems may have followed num-
ber 644.

This long handscroll more than thirty-
five feet in length is an important example
of collaborative works with calligraphy
by Hon'ami Koetsu and underpaintings or
printed designs in gold and silver by
Tawaraya Sotatsu. When executed in the
handscroll format, the composite visual
rhythms of underdesigns and cursive callig-
raphy that are revealed by the gradual
unrolling of the scroll are remarkably effec-
tive. In no other works of Japanese calligra-
phy is the dynamic interaction of calligra-
phy and decoration so fully realized.

The designs on the mica-coated paper
were printed by a special technique appar-
ently devised for the papers designed by
Sotatsu for calligraphy. Carved woodblocks
were liberally linked with dilute gold or
silver pigment. Rather than registering the
block along the edge of the paper, the
printer varied the position of the block with

each successive printing, overlapping some
motifs to simulate the effect of a painting.
Liberal application of the gold and silver
pigment resulted in a slightly irregular
pooling on the surface of the paper as the
block and paper were separated, an effect
that simulates the tonal variation of color
applied with a brush.

The pictorial designs of the scroll begin
with a passage of dense grasses arranged in
clusters along the lower edge of the scroll,
followed by a long passage of vine leaves
trailing from above. In the middle segment,
a bamboo grove printed in silver fills the
entire width of the scroll. Cranes in silver
and gold soar upward toward the right
as the point of view is directed toward the
sky. The scroll concludes with a sequence of
peonies seen from a close standpoint.

Over this luminous design with its dra-
matic and constantly changing patterns, the
poems are written. Using cursive kana
script in combination with selected cursive
Chinese characters, Koetsu freely varied the
scale and composition of characters, the

length of the lines, and their arrangement
on the page. Rather than paralleling the
compositional arrangements ot the decora-
tive motifs, the calligraphy establishes an
independent cadence as the lines rise and
fall, swell, and diminish to the faintest
whisper of a smgle, slender syllable written
at the lowermost edge of the page. Always
conscious of the aesthetic character of the
printed decoration, the calligrapher has
responded with originality and imagination.
In the passage of trailing ivy vines, a se-
quence of characters representing five
syllables, "au koto no," is written in bold,
highly abbreviated cursive script that de-
scends from among the foliage as if it were
a curling tendril of ivy. The sense of dy-
namic interaction between the writing and
decoration is nowhere more apparent
than in the passage where cranes soar up-
ward toward the right in opposition to the
descending lines of calligraphy progressing
toward the left.

For his achievements in calligraphy,
Koetsu is counted among the Three Brushes

of the Kan'ei Era (1624-44) [J: Kan'ei
Sampitsu], together with Shokado (see cat.
no. 26) and Konoe Nobutada (sec cat. no.
27). A master of many arts who was born to
a family of sword connoisseurs, Koetsu had
a deep appreciation ot craft techniques,
which is evident in the original designs of
papers he preferred for his calligraphy.
From 161 5, Koetsu lived with a group of
artists and craftsmen at Takagamine outside
Kyoto.

Koctsu's writing, characterized by pro-
nounced variation in the width of line and
of characters, strong internal rhythm,
and expressive control of ink tone, reveals
his close study ot both Chinese and Japanese
calligraphic traditions. His calligraphy
ranks as one of the supreme achievements in
the history of Japanese calligraphy.

1. Freer Gallery of Art acc. nos. 03. 138-03. 141.

2. For Japanese texts of the poems, see Kokin wakashu
in NKBT, vol. 8 (1958), pp. 225-30. For English trans-
lations, see McCullough 1985, pp. 139-44; Laurel Ras-
plica Rodd with Mary Catherine Hcnkenius, Kokiiishii:

A Collection of Poems Ancienl and Modern (Princeton,
N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1984), pp. 226-34.

Published: Shimada, Akiyama. and Yamane 1979-81,
vol. 5: Rimpa, pis. 15 and 16 and pp. 125-26; FGA
Handbook 1976, p. 118; FGA II: Japan 1974, pi. 37 and
pp. 164-65; Shimada 1969, vol. i, pt. i, p. 43 and pt.
2, pp. 60-61.

overleaf: detail, cat. no. 28

Japanese Calligraphy 85

28 Poems from the Kokin wakasim (Anthology of Ancient and Modem Japanese Verse)

mixed scripts; cursive Japanese hiragnna with cursive Chinese scripts

calhgraphy by Hon'ami Koctsu (1558-1637)

printed designs by Tawaraya Sotatsu (act. ca. 1600-1640)

japan, late Momoyama to early Edo period; early 17th century

handscroll; ink, gold, and silver on paper

height 33.0 cm (13 in); length 994.2 cm (43o'yi6 in)

03-309

When purchased by Charles Lang Freer in
1903, the sheets of paper now attached in
sequence to form a handscroll were
mounted separately on a set ot tour shding
doors {}: fusuma).' A painting on the paper
surfaces of the opposite sides of the doors
depicts a large pond populated with man-
darin ducks. In 1955. after recognizing that
the sheets of calligraphy formed a continu-
ous sequence. Dr. Harold P. Stern, then
curator of Japanese art at the Freer Gallery,
had them removed from the door panels
and restored to form a handscroll.

Although there are a few slight losses at
the edges of some sheets, the scroll pre-
serves a consecutive sequence of poems
selected from the imperial anthology Kokin
wakashii (Anthology of Ancient and Modern
Japanese Verse, compiled a.d. 905). The
twenty-six poems are numbers 619 through
644 from Book XIII (Love Poems 3) of the
anthology.^ Since the first sheet of paper
in the present scroll is very short, with only
two lines of writing, it seems probable that
the original scroll would have included the

three missing poems from the beginning of
Book XIII. It is also possible that some
additional poems may have followed num-
ber 644.

This long handscroll more than thirty-
five feet in length is an important example
of collaborative works with calligraphy
by Hon'ami Koctsu and undcrpaintings or
printed designs in gold and silver by
Tawaraya Sotatsu. When executed in the
handscroll format, the composite visual
rhythms of underdesigns and cursive callig-
raphy that are revealed by the gradual
unrolling of the scroll are remarkably effec-
tive. In no other works of Japanese calligra-
phy is the dynamic interaction of calligra-
phy and decoration so fully realized.

The designs on the mica-coated paper
were printed by a special technique appar-
ently devised for the papers designed by
Sotatsu for calligraphy. Carved woodblocks
were liberally linked with dilute gold or
silver pigment. Rather than registering the
block along the edge of the paper, the
printer varied the position of the block with

each successive printing, overlapping some
motifs to simulate the effect of a painting.
Liberal application of the gold and silver
pigment resulted in a slightly irregular
pooling on the surface of the paper as the
block and paper were separated, an effect
that simulates the tonal variation of color
applied with a brush.

The pictorial designs of the scroll begin
with a passage of dense grasses arranged in
clusters along the lower edge of the scroll,
followed by a long passage of vine leaves
trailing from above. In the middle segment,
a bamboo grove printed in silver fills the
enrirc width of the scroll. Cranes in silver
and gold soar upward toward the right
as the point of view is directed toward the
sky. The scroll concludes with a sequence of
peonies seen from a close standpoint.

Over this luminous design with its dra-
matic and constantly changing patterns, the
poems are written. Using cursive katia
script in combination with selected cursive
Chinese characters, Koetsu freely varied the
scale and composition of characters, the

length of the lines, and their arrangement
on the page. Rather than paralleling the
compositional arrangements of the decora-
tive motifs, the calligraphy establishes an
independent cadence as the lines rise and
fall, swell, and diminish to the faintest
whisper of a single, slender syllable written
at the lowermost edge of the page. Always
conscious of the aesthetic character of the
printed decoration, the caliigraphcr has
responded with originality and imagination.
In the passage of traiUng ivy vines, a se-
quence of characters representing five
syllables, "au koto no," is written in bold,
highly abbreviated cursive script that de-
scends from among the foliage as if it were
a curling tendril of ivy. The sense of dy-
namic interaction between the writing and
decoration is nowhere more apparent
than in the passage where cranes soar up-
ward toward the right in opposition to the
descending lines of calligraphy progressing
toward the left.

For his achievements in calligraphy,
Koetsu is counted among the Three Brushes

of the Kan'ei Era (1624-44) [J: Kan'ci
Sampitsu], together with Shokado (see cat,
no. 26) and Konoc Nobutada (see cat. no.
27). A master of many arts who was born to
a family of sword connoisseurs, Koetsu had
a deep appreciation of craft techniques,
which is evident in the original designs of
papers he preferred for his calligraphy.
From 1615, Koetsu lived with a group of
artists and craftsmen at Takagaminc outside
Kyoto.

Koetsu's writing, characterized by pro-
nounced variation in the width of line and
of characters, strong internal rhythm,
and expressive control of ink tone, reveals
his close study of both Chinese and Japanese
caUigraphic traditions. His calligraphy
ranks as one of the supreme achievements in
the history of Japanese calligraphy.

1, Freer Gallery of Art acc. nos, 03.138-03. 141.

2. For Japanese texts of the poems, see Kokin wakashii
in NKBT, vol. 8 (1958), pp. 225-30. For English trans-
lations, see McCullough 1985, pp. 139-44; Laurel Ras-
plica Rodd with Mary Catherine Henkenius, Koktiuhii:

A Coileclion of Poems Aiidenl and Modem (Princeton.
NJ.: Princeton University Press. 1984). pp. 226-34.

Published: Shimada, Akiyama, and Yamanc 1979-81,
vol. 5: Rimpa, pis. i j and 16 and pp 125-26; FGA
Handbook 1976. p. 118; FCA II: Japan 1974, pi, 37 and
pp, 164-65; Shimada 1969. vol. i, pt, 1. p. 43 and pt,
2, pp. 60-61.

Japanese Calligraphy 85

29 Thirty-Six Poem-sheets (Shikishi) from the Shin kokiri wakashu

mixed scripts: cursive Japanese hiragana with semicursive and cursive Chinese scripts
by Hon'ami Koetsu (1558-1637)
Japan, Edo period; early 17th century

pair of six-panel folding screens; ink on paper with gold, silver, and color
screen: height 168.2 cm {66V4 in); length 375.7 cm in)
poem-sheets approximately: height 19.7 cm {jVh in); width 17.4 cm {6V» in)
02. 195 and 02. 196

Thirty-six poem-sheets (shikislii) are pasted
on a pair of screens over a painting that
forms a continuous composition linking the
two screens. Executed predominantly in
gold with touches of color and ink, the
painting depicts a bamboo blind facing a
garden fdled with peonies, autumn flowers,
and grasses. Many of the flowers are exe-
cuted in a relief technique known as inoriage,
in which areas are built up with white
pigment under the surface gold.

The thirty-six poems chosen for this
screen come from the Shin kokin wakashu
(New Anthology of Ancient and Modern
Japanese Verse, compiled a.d. 1205). Each
poem is written on a separate sheet of paper
that is lightly colored, and painted with an
individual design m gold and silver. The
placement of the papers on the screens
forms a visual pattern in itself, echoing in
large scale the varied composition of the
lines of cursive calligraphy. The relatively
large and simplified forms of the painted
motifs are close in style to those seen in
collaborative works with underpaintings by
Tawaraya Sotatsu (act. ca. 1600-1649) and
calligraphy by Koetsu, to whom the poems
on this screen are attributed on the basis of
their style.

Among the surviving calligraphic works
attributed to Koetsu are many poem-sheets
decorated with motifs in silver and gold
that harmonize well with the strong forms
of his writing. The verses of these poem-
sheets, which often were made in sets
for mounting in albums or on screens, are
predominantly chosen from the Shin kokin
wakashu, which Koetsu considered to be
unsurpassed in quality.

Koetsu's writing reflects his study of
Chinese calligraphy, including that of the
Song-period scholar Zhang Jizhi (1166-
1286). In writing Japanese waka poems,
typically thirty-one syllables in length,
Koetsu freely incorporated Chinese charac-
ters, which vary the rhythmic flow and
formal characteristics of the calligraphy.
Even his cursive kana characters are written
with pronounced modulations in the move-
ment, angle, and pressure of the brush,
which give his writing a dynamic quality
that contrasts to the elegant classicism of his
younger contemporary, Shokado (sec cat.
no. 26).

1 ■ " — ■

i , .I

•lis is

Ik

righthand screen, 02.195

lefthand screen, 02.196

The writing in this set of poem-sheets
reveals a slight tremor of the hand, espe-
cially in the jagged outer contours of the
broad, curved strokes where the brush tip
was held at a pronounced angle while its
direction was changed. This characteristic
of Koetsu's late works places the probable
date of execution of these poem-sheets
during the Kan'ei era (1624-44) when the
calligraphcr was about seventy.'

Acquired by Charles Lang Freer (1854-
1919) in 1902, this pair of screens- is one of
several calligraphic works attributed to
Koetsu that come from Freer's collection
(see also cat. no. 28). The presence of pure
works of calligraphy in his collection is
remarkable for a time when the art of

calligraphy was little appreciated by collec-
tors in the West. For his devotion to Koetsu,
Freer was honored by the placement of a
memorial on the grounds of the temple in
Kyoto where Koetsu's tomb is located.

1. Komatsu 1981, pp. 126-27.

2. Records from the time of purchase of these screens
from the Japanese art dealer Matsuki Bunkyo (1867-
1940) state that they were once in the collection of a
retainer to Marquis Hachisuka of Awa (now in Chiba
Prefecture).

Published: Komatsu 198 1, pp. 65-66 and 126-27.

88

Japanese Calligraphy 89

30 Japanese Poems

mixed scripts: cursive Japanese hiragana and cursive Chinese scripts
by Kojima Soshin (1580-ca. 1656)
Japan, Edo period; dated 1652
handscroll; ink on paper with gold and color
height 29.2 cm (11V2 in); length 708.8 cm (278 in)
_76£

On paper decorated with detailed paintmgs
of fields of flowers seen through bands of
golden mist are selected Japanese poems,
many of them originally composed for
poetry competitions {uta-awase). According
to conventions established in court circles of
the Heian period (794-1185), those present
at these gatherings would produce poems
on a specified theme that would be critically
judged in comparison to others composed
for the same occasion.

The calligraphy by Kojima Soshin, a
disciple of Hon'ami Koetsu (see cat. nos. 28
and 29), is written in a style that reflects
Koetsu's preference for writing Japanese
poems in relatively large-scale cursive
Japanese kana script combined with Chinese
characters selected for emphasis. In compar-
ison to Koetsu's writing, however, Soshin's
calligraphy reveals his habit of holding the
brush at an angle, a technique that concen-
trates the turns of the brush at the tip,
thereby exaggerating the turns of the brush
and the transitions between thin and thick
strokes. Accents of dark ink appear more
regularly than in Koetsu's writing, and the
relatively uniform tone reduces the expres-
sive impact of the contrasts of dark and
light that are characteristic of Koetsu's
writing. The rather loose, open structure of
the characters combined with their looping
forms gives Soshin's writing a spacious,
decorative quality.

Relatively little is known about the life of
Soshin, but like Koetsu, he seems to have
had close contacts among the skilled crafts-
men of Kyoto, including the textile designer
Ogata Soken (1621-1687), who was the
father of the artists Korin (1658-1716) and
Kenzan (1663-1743). The minute and
elegant decoration of this scroll is reminis-
cent of designs for fine textiles and for
lacquer, both crafts that flourished in Kyoto.
At the end of the scroll is a brief inscription
giving the date as the eleventh lunar month
of the first year of thejoo era (1652). The
date is followed by Soshin's signature
and two seals, and the calligrapher gives his
age as seventy-three.'

I. A similarly decorated scroll by Soshin dated three
years later is illustrated in the catalogue Nikon no
she (Tokyo: Tokyo National Museum, 1978), cat. no.
328.

References: Shimizu and Rosenfield 1984, pp. 262-63;
Komatsu 1970, vol. i, pp. 494-95 and vol, 2, figs.
1425-30.

detail

90

Japanese Calligraphy 91

30 Japanese Poems

mixed scripts: cursive Japanese hiragtina and cursive Chinese scripts

by Kojima Soshin (1580-ca. 1656)

Japan, Edo period; dated 1652

handscroU; ink on paper with gold and color

height 29.2 cm (iiVi in); length 708. 8 cm (278 in)

76.8

On paper decorated with detailed paintings
of fields of flowers seen through bands of
golden mist are selected Japanese poems,
many of them originally composed for
poetry competitions (tita-awase). According
to conventions established m court circles of
the Heian period (794-1185), those present
at these gatherings would produce poems
on a specified theme that would be critically
judged in comparison to others composed
for the same occasion.

The caUigraphy by Kojima Soshin. a
disciple of Hon'ami Koetsu (see cat. nos. 28
and 29). is written in a style that reflects
Koetsu's preference for writing Japanese
poems in relatively large-scale cursive
Japanese kana script combined with Chinese
characters selected for emphasis. In compar-
ison to Koetsu's writing, however, Soshin's
calligraphy reveals his habit of holding the
brush at an angle, a technique that concen-
trates the turns of the brush at the tip,
thereby exaggerating the turns of the brush
and the transitions between chin and thick
strokes. Accents of dark ink appear more
regularly than in Koetsu's wnting, and the
relatively uniform tone reduces the expres-
sive impact of the contrasts of dark and
light that are characteristic of Koetsu's
writing. The rather loose, open structure of
the characters combined with their looping
forms gives Soshin's writing a spacious,
decorative quality.

Relatively little is known about the hfe of
Soshin, but hke Koetsu, he seems to have
had close contacts among the skilled crafts-
men of Kyoto, including the textile designer
Ogata Soken (1621-1687), who was the
father of the artists Korin (1658-1716) and
Kenzan (1663-1743). The minute and
elegant decoration of this scroll is reminis-
cent of designs for fine textiles and for
lacquer, both crafts that flourished in Kyoto.
At the end of the scroll is a brief inscription
giving the date as the eleventh lunar month
of the first year of the J66 era (1652). The
date is followed by Soshin's signature
and two seals, and the calligrapher gives his
age as seventy-three.'

I. A similarly decorated scroll by Soshin dated three
years later is illustrated in the catalogue Nihon no
sho (Tokyo: Tokyo National Museum, 1978). cat no

References; Shimizu and Roscnfield 1984, pp. 262-63;
Komatsu 1970, vol. 1. pp. 494-95 and vol. 2, figs.
142S-30

90

Japanese Calligraphy 91

31 Inkstone Case (Suzuribako)

cursive Japanese hiragana script
by Masatsune

Japan, Edo period; early 17th century

lacquer on wood with gold and silver powders, inlaid silver, and metal binding on rims

height 5.0 cm (2 in); width 21.6 cm (8'/2 m); length 23.7 cm (9^8 in)

44.22

In Japan, decorated lacquered boxes are
customarily used to store and transport the
materials needed for writing: inkstone,
water-dropper, brushes, and ink. Made and
decorated with precious materials at great
expense, they were cherished and handed
down as family treasures.

A poem-picture (uta-e) merging pictorial
and calligraphic elements decorates the lid
of this inkstone case. The silver forms of
three syllables of hiragatia phonetic script are
concealed in the contours of the foreground
rocks. When deciphered to form a word,
nezame (to awaken from sleep), the charac-
ters provide a verbal clue that must be
"read" with the pictorial imagery of the
nocturnal autumn scene to identify a specihc
poem, in this case from the famous imperial
anthology Kokin wakashu (Anthology of
Ancient and Modern Japanese Verse),
compiled a.d. 905:

aki nara de

oku shiratsuyu wa

nezame sum
waga tamakura no

shizuku narikeri

KKS XV: 757I

They were but tears
shed

upon my pillowing

sleeve
when I awakened —
those transparent

drops of dew
straying from

autumn's season. -

All of the imagery of the poem is incorpo-
rated in the picture. Autumn grasses domi-
nate the scene, as if the viewer, too, were
among them. An open sleeve in the distinc-
tively stylized form transmitted from
earlier depictions of Heian-period costume
(see cat. no. 23) is rendered in low relief
to the left.

The poem-picture is a Japanese applica-
tion of calligraphy that first appears in
the arts of the Heian period. In the world of
the Heian aristocracy, the composition and
transcription of poetry was widely prac-
ticed, and such tests of expertise as the
poem-picture were both amusing and
challenging. The fusion of writing, incor-
porating only a few syllables of a whole
poem, with the picture in uta-e presumes a
detailed knowledge of classical poetry on
the part of the viewer. The frequency with
which poems from the Kokin ivakashu are
quoted by calligraphers indicates that for

base showing water-dropper, inkstone, and tray for brushes

many, its verses were familiar and fondly
regarded.

Poem-pictures executed in silver and gold
are especially prevalent in the decoration of
lacquer suzuribako of the Muromachi period
(1392-1573). This box is a rare example of
an uta-e design on a lacquer object datable
to the early seventeenth century. The maker,
a master lacquerer, is identified only by the
name, Masatsune, provided by a small
inscription in seal-script characters beneath
an inner tray. Characteristics of the design
and technique suggest that the artist be-
longed to the Igarashi school of lacquerers,
trained in Kyoto but later active in Kaga
Province (modern Ishikawa Prefecture).

1. Kokin wakashu [KKS] in NKBT. vol. 8 (1958), p.
252, no. 757-

2. McCullough 1985, p. 167.

Published: Ann Yonemura, Japanese Lacquer (Washing-
ton, D.C.: Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institu-
tion, 1979), pp. 38-39; Freer Gallery of Art, The Arts oj
Asia at the Time of American Independence (Washington,
D.C.; Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution,
197.S). P- 25; Alexander G. Mosle, The Mosle Collection
(Leipzig, 1933), vol. 2, p. 34, no. 1683.

92

Japanese Calligraphy 93

32 "Iron Flute''

standard script

by Kogetsu Sogan (i 574-1643)

Japan, late Momoyama to early Edo period; early 17th century

hanging scroll; ink on paper

height 30.6 cm (12 in); width 90.5 cm (35% in)

8 1, 12

Mounted as a hanging scroll for display in
the alcove (J: tokonoma) of a tearoom, this
calligraphy presents a forceful image domi-
nated by the two characters "tetteki" (C:
tiedi), meaning "iron flute." Written with a
large brush heavily laden with thick black
ink, the characters have a monumental
quality. The title may refer to a Chinese
account of magical iron flute given to the
blind fortuneteller Sun Shouyong (act. ca.
1225).' Following the title in smaller script
is a Chinese couplet with the enigmatic
text:

A kind of sound which has infinite resonance
Is audible yet inaudible.^

The calligraphy is an example of bokuseki
(literally, "ink traces"), calligraphy written
by Zen (C: Chan) Buddhist monks, which
reflects their disciplined character and
spiritual devotion. In the Zen sect, which
stresses transmission of teachings from
master to disciple, the calligraphy of previ-
ous masters took on a special importance as
a visible reminder of their achievements.
Scrolls of calligraphy by prominent Zen
monks were handed down within temples,
from master to disciple, or exchanged
among colleagues as a tangible embodiment
of doctrine and community. The Chinese
literature and calligraphic styles that formed
the basis of their scholarly study were

transmitted by the founders of Japanese Zen
monasteries during the twelfth to thirteenth
centuries.

The inscription is followed by the callig-
rapher's signature, "Kogetsu-so sho"
("written by Old Kogetsu"). The upper seal
in the form of a Chinese bronze tripod
reads, "Setsu kyaku" ("Broken leg[s]").
Below it is a circular seal reading "Tozen"
("Eastward advance"), apparently a refer-
ence to the eastward advance of Buddhism.

The signature and seals identify the
calligrapher as Kogetsu Sogan. The son of a
famous tea master, he began his long asso-
ciation with the great Kyoto Zen-sect
temple, Daitoku-ji, as a young boy. Ad-

94

vancing quickly in the religious order, he
became abbot of the Oaitoku-ji in 1610. He
subsequently had a prominent role in the
religious and cultural life of the early Edo
period, associating closely with Emperor
Gomizunoo (r. 161 1-29) and with the
second and third Tokugawa shoguns, Toku-
gawa Hidetada (1579-1632) and Tokugawa
lemitsu (1604-1651).

The calligraphy reveals a strong and
confident personal style, grounded in the
tradition of Daitoku-ji monks such as
Shuho Myocho (1282-1337) and Tetsuo
Giko (1295-1369). The large-character
inscriptions by Sogan produced impressive

images suitable for display at a tea gather-
ing-

1. Sung shih, chapter 462. See Sung shih (Peking:
Chung-hua, 1977), vol. 39, p. 13533.

2. Translation by Yoshiaki Shimizu (1982) in unpub-
lished curatorial records for acc. no. 81.12, Office of the

Registrar, Freer Gallery of Art. overleaf: detail, cat. no. 32

Japanese Calligraphy 95

32 "Iron Flute"

standard script

by Kogetsu Sogan (1574-1643)

Japan, late Momoyama to early Edo period; early 17th century

hanging scroll; ink on paper

height 30.6 cm (12 in); width 90.5 cm (35% in)

81.12

Mounted as a hangmg scroU for display in
the alcove (J; tokonoma) of a tearoom, this
calligraphy presents a forceful image domi-
nated by the two characters "tetteki" (C:
liedi), meaning "iron flute." Written with a
large brush heavily laden with thick black
ink, the characters have a monumental
quality The title may refer to a Chinese
account of magical iron flute given to the
blind fortuncteUer Sun Shouyong (act. ca.
1225).' Following the title in smaller script
is a Chinese couplet with the enigmatic
text:

A kind of sound which has itifinile resotiatue
Is audible yet inaudible.-

The calligraphy is an example of bokuseki
(literally, "ink traces"), calligraphy written
by Zen (C: Chan) Buddhist monks, which
reflects their disciplined character and
spintual devotion. In the Zen sect, which
stresses transmission of teachings from
master to disciple, the calligraphy of previ-
ous masters took on a special importance as
a visible reminder of their achievements.
Scrolls of calligraphy by prominent Zen
monks were handed down within temples,
from master to disciple, or exchanged
among colleagues as a tangible embodiment
of doctrine and community. The Chinese
literature and calligraphic styles that formed
the basis of their scholarly study were

transmitted by the founders of Japanese Zen
monasteries during the twelfth to thirteenth
centuries.

The inscription is followed by the callig-
rapher's signature, "K6gctsu-s6 sho"
("written by Old Kogetsu"). The upper seal
in the form of a Chinese bronze tripod
reads, "Setsu kyaku" ("Broken leg[s]").
Below it is a circular seal reading "Tozcn"
("Eastward advance"), apparently a refer-
ence to the eastward advance of Buddhism.

The signature and seals identify the
calligrapher as Kogetsu Sogan. The son of a
famous tea master, he began his long asso-
ciation with the great Kyoto Zen-sect
temple, Daitoku-ji. as a young boy. Ad-

94

vancing quickly in the religious order, he
became abbot of the Daitoku-ji in 1610. He
subsequently had a prominent role in the
religious and cultural hfe of the early Edo
period, associating closely with Emperor
Gomizunoo (r. 1611-29) and with the
second and third Tokugawa shoguns, Toku-
gawa Hidetada (1579-1632) and Tokugawa
lemitsu (1604-1651).

The calligraphy reveals a strong and
confident personal style, grounded in the
tradition of Daitoku-ji monks such as
Shuho Myocho (1282-1337) and Tetsuo
Giko (1295-1369). The large-character
inscriptions by Sogan produced impressive

images suitable for display at a tea gather-
ing.

1. Sung shih. chapter 462 See Sung shih (Peking:
Chung-hua, 1977). vol. 39, p. I3533>

2. Translation by Yoshiaki Shimizu (1982) in unpub-
lished curatorial records for acc. no. 81.12, Office of the
Registrar, Freer Gallery of Art.

overleaf: detail, cat. no. 32

Japanese Calligraphy 95

96

33 Chinese Phrase

cursive script

by Muan Xingtao (J: Mokuan Shoto, 1611-1684)
Japan, Edo period; 17th century
hanging scroll; ink on paper

height 137.5 cm (5414 in); width 28.5 cm (11V4 in)
80. 195

A single column of five widely separated
cursive Chinese characters written with
vigorous brush strokes gives a phrase that
carries a number of meanings. It may be
literally rendered, "The tip of the stick
opens the true [or orthodox] eye." The stick
may be understood to refer to the stick
used by Zen (C: Chan) masters in training
their disciples.

In the single line of cursive script along
the lefthand edge of the scroll, the calhgra-
pher identifies himself as "The thirty-
third generation after Rinzai [C: Linji],
Obaku Mokuan [C: Huangbo Muan]." The
signature is followed by two seals. The
upper intaglio seal reads, "Shaku-kai to in
[Seal of Ordained Monk (Shoto)]." The
lower seal carved in relief reads, "Mokuan
shi." In the upper right corner is another
seal, reading, "Hogai gakushi."

Muan, better known by the Japanese
form of his name as Mokuan, was a Chinese
monk of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism
who resided in Japan from 1655 until the
end of his life. He joined other Chinese and
Japanese monks in the Obaku (C: Huangbo)
sect of Zen Buddhism that established itself
separately from the Japanese Rinzai sect.
He served for the last sixteen years of
his life as an abbot of the head temple of the
sect, the Mampuku-ji in Kyoto.

Exempted from the restrictions against
foreign contact that were imposed by
the Tokugawa shogunate, the Mampuku-ji
had an important cultural role in transmit-
ting the arts and learning of contemporary
China to Japan. Like Mokuan, many of the
early abbots of the Obaku sect were accom-
plished calligraphers. Their work was
collected and handed down in Japan for its
distinctive style that derived from that of
late Ming-dynasty Chinese calligraphers.
Calligraphy by Obaku monks influenced the
evolution of Chinese calligraphic styles in
Edo-period (161 5-1868) Japan.

An excellent and productive calligrapher,
Mokuan left many works. One other
scroll by Mokuan, on the theme "empti-
ness," is in the collection of the Freer Gallery
of Art.'

1. Freer Gallery of Art acc. no. 75 .19. Published in
Murray 1979, pp. 69-70.

References: Shimizu and Rosenfield 1984, pp. 1 12-21
and 164-65; Addiss 1978.

98

34 Chinese Couplet

cursive and semicursive Chinese scripts

by Gion Nankai (1677-175 1)

Japan, Edo period; i8th century

hanging scroll; ink on paper

height 1 10. 1 cm (43 in); width 25.5 cm (10 in)

Gift of Dr. Kurt A. Gitter, in memory of Dr. Harold P. Stern

78.11

Two Hues of fluently written semicursive
and cursive Chinese characters express a
sentiment of contentment in rural life,
a metaphor for the ideal of Chinese scholars
(C: weriren) who longed for freedom from
their official duties:

Cramped yet without hindrance in my thatched
hut

Content in poverty, I enjoy the scent of cabbage.

Beginning in the seventeenth century a
group of Japanese calligraphers and painters
assimilated the artistic ideals of the Chinese
scholar who wrote calligraphy or poetry
or painted as an avocation to his official
duties. Known as bunjin (literary men), they
spread their ideas throughout Japan, giving
rise to a creative movement in calligraphy,
literary studies and practice, and painting
that had as its basis the arts, language, and
critical theory of China.

Gion Nankai, whose signature "Genyu,"
a sobriquet, and seals' appear on the scroll,
is considered to be one of the founders of
Japanese literati painting. The son of a
doctor who served the military rulers of Kii
Province (modern Wakayama Prefecture),
Nankai became a teacher of Confucianism.
After a decade of exile from 1700 to 1710
for an unspecified offense, he returned
to the provincial capital, where he continued
to teach, and to study and practice Chinese
painting, hi light ot Nankai s biography, the
text inscribed on this scroll takes on a
poignant irony as it recalls not only conven-
tional sentiment but also his personal
experience of exile.

I. The upper intaglio seal beneath the signature reads,
"Genyu no in." The lower relief seal reads, "Kan fujin
sho sen saishu."

References: Buujinga suihen, vol. ii: Gion Nankai, Yana-
gisawa Kien (Tokyo; Chuo koronsha, 1975); James F.
Cahill, Scholar-Painters of Japan: The Nanga School (New
York: Asia House Gallery, 1972), pp. 15-17.

Japanese Calligraphy

35 Branch of Plum in a Vase

semicursive and cursive Chinese scripts

painting and calligraphy by Tanomura Chikuden (^111-

Japan, Edo period; dated 1834

panel-mounted hanging scroll; ink on paper

height 31.7 cm (121/2 in); width 22.5 cm (SYs in)

76.1

An intnnate and highly personal quality is
embodied in this small painting of a with-
ered blossoming branch in a vase with a
cracked-ice pattern. Nearly balanced in
visual terms, the calligraphy and the paint-
ing have roles of equal importance. Close in
spirit and expression to Chinese literati
painting, the work reflects the Japanese
artist's remarkable assimilation of the ideals
of the literati (J: bunjin; C: wenreti).

The inscription, written in semicursive
script, describes the circumstances that
inspired the painting. The painter, Chiku-
den, whose signature and seal appears at the
end of the inscription near the base of the
vase, commemorates a visit with Zen
(C: Chan) master Soshin, whose company
he enjoyed during a stay at a lodge in
Koriyama village in modern Oita Prefec-
ture. He describes their discussions lasting
through the winter night, and recalls the
image of the Zen master Soshin seated
beside the vase of flowering plum.

Like the calligraphy, the painting is exe-
cuted swiftly and spontaneously. Swift, dry
strokes of the brush sketch the form of the
vase. On its sparse branches, dehcate
blossoms are depicted in threadlike strokes
of pale ink. The simple image recalls the
whole experience of Chikuden's discourse
with the Zen master. The date given by the
inscription, the fourth year of the Tempo
era, first day of the twelfth lunar month,
corresponds to January 10, 1834. Written
and painted in the last year of Chikuden's
life, the work assumes a significant place
among the artist's oeuvre.'

I. One other painting by Chikuden bearing his own
inscription is in the collection of the Freer Gallery
of Art (acc. no. 75.3).

Published: Murray 1979, pp. 74-75.

100

Japanese Calligraphy loi

Introduction to Islamic Calligraphy

Through the qalam [pen] existence receives God's orders,
From Him the candle oj the qalam receives its light.
The qalam is a cypress in the garden of knowledge ,
The shadow of its order is spread over dust}

These words written by Qadi Ahmad, a sixteenth-century Iranian artist and
critic, suggest the remarkable importance that calligraphy held within the
Muslim world. Invested with God's power, and as an instrument of his will,
writing acquired a special status that no other artistic expression was able
to attain. The nineteen Islamic objects in this exhibition reflect the range and
variety of this calligraphic tradition. They date from the ninth century to
the seventeenth, and come from North Africa in the west to India in the east.
Included among them are Qur'anic pages, poetic manuscripts, individual
calligraphies, metal and stone works, and ceramics. Although the writing on
some of the objects was meant only to convey a specific message, on others it
was intended to enhance their beauty. Often the two functions were insepa-
rable. One Mughal historian noted:

In the eyes of the friends of true beauty, a letter is the source from which the light
confined within beams forth; and, in the opinion of the far-sighted, it is the world-
refiecting cup in the abstract. The letter, a magical power, is spiritual geometry ema-
nating from the pen of invention; a heavenly writ from the hand of fate; it contains
the secret word, and is the tongue of the hand.-

The capacity both to carry a specific message, or series of messages —
some exoteric and others esoteric^ — and to act independently ot those mes-
sages, gives calligraphy a distinct quality. Moreover, because of its inherent
flexibility, the use of calligraphy was not limited to two-dimensional surfaces
or to certain types of objects. Although calligraphy s prominence makes it
one of the most easily recognized aspects of Islamic art, it is also the most
difficult to understand. The problem stems in part from the complexity of
the languages involved — Arabic and to a lesser extent Persian and Turkish —
and in part from the kind of aesthetic standards involved in responding
to it. Arabic (a Semitic language), as opposed to Persian (an Indo-
European language) and Turkish (a Euro-Altaic language), is synthetic or
inflectional, like Latin. Its alphabet, which is used with slight modification
for Persian and Turkish, consists of twenty-eight letters, three of which can
function as long vowels; short vowels are usually not recorded. Letters are
generally linked to each other and have four configurations depending upon
whether they arc written alone or as the initial, medial, or terminal part of
a word. The six letters alif { ] ), dal ( j ), dhal ( ',3 ), ra {j ), za ( j ), and waw
( J ) can be connected only to the letters preceding them.

102

Given Arabic's unique role within the MusHm world as the bearer of the
divine revelation, it is easy to see how calligraphy — the act of recording
God's words as transmitted by the prophet through the Qur'an — became
central to any artistic expression. It is equally apparent that the identification
of the Arabic script with the Muslims during the first years of Islam led to a
general association of the script with the culture at large, so that it became
the most obvious element of the new faith. What is much less clear is how
this process occurred and the extent to which a conscious set of controls was
established to govern the shape, form, and articulation of the script. For
instance, although it is possible to trace the evolution of Arabic from a rela-
tively "free" script having no formal set of rules concerning diacritical marks
and vowels during the eighth and ninth centuries (see cat. no. 36 and fig. 1 1),
to a much more rigid script during the tenth and eleventh centuries, it is not
at all apparent how the letters themselves achieved, in a matter of years, such
uniform shapes. It is virtually impossible to distinguish between Qur'ans
copied in North Africa and Iraq during the tenth and eleventh centuries and
those copied in Iran.

Most studies of Islamic calligraphy have concentrated on historical ques-
tions. The important work of Nabia Abbott, Annemarie Schimmel, Martin
Lings, Yasin Safadi, and Adolf Grohmann, among others, has created a
substantial body of information concerning certain aspects of this phenome-
non.'* The following observations grow out of their work and are meant to
suggest both the richness and the complexity of this material. From the ninth
century on, if not before, there exist numerous documents, objects, and
historical and biographical accounts that allow the development of calligraphy
to be traced from mail and ku fic — angular scripts initially associated with the
copying of the holy Qur'an — to the evolution of a series of cursive scripts.
Within this context three men are accorded special status: ibn Muqla, ibn al-
Bawwab, and Yaqut al-Mustasimi. These calligraphers are generally thought
by most historians of the subject to be the pivotal figures in a direct chain of
transmission whose ultimate source was the prophet Muhammad.^ Ibn Muqla
(d. 940), a vizier to the Abbasid caliphs al-Muqtadir (r. 908-32), al-Qahir (r.
932-34), and al-Radi (r. 934-40) in Baghdad, is credited with standardizing
and codifying the rules for beautiful writing based on the use of rhombic
points for establishing the correct shape of letters. He is also considered to be
the inventor of the six major cursive scripts, or manners of writing, used
throughout the Muslim world: thuluth, naskh (or iiaskhi), riliaii, muhaqqaq,
tauqi, and riqa. Four more scripts, ghuhar, tumar, taliq, and fiastaliq, were later
added to ibn Muqla's repertoire.

Although the differences between these scripts are often subtle, they are
nevertheless easily discernible. Thuluth (which means literally "one third"
and derives its name from the principle that a third of each letter should

Ititwductio}! to Islamic Calligraphy 103

slope) and muhaqqaq (which means "strongly expressed"), for instance, are
relatively dynamic and monumental scripts with well-formed letters that
emphasize vertical and horizontal movements (see cat. no. 41); iiaskli (which
means an act of cancellation or of abrogation) uses smaller and more rounded
characters that play on diagonal thrusts (see cat. nos. 38, 39, 43, and 53).
Riqa, on the other hand, combines the qualities of both naskh and thuliitli and
has a densely structured system of short ligatures with the final letters of
one word often linked to the first letters of the next. Taliq (which means to
suspend or to hang) and nastaliq (which theoretically derives its name from
the joining of naskh and taliq), in contrast to other scripts, have characters
that appear to swing from the upper right to the lower left of each word as if
suspended by an imaginary line. The light cursive letters of these scripts
change abruptly from their maximum width to their minimum, and end in
fine, razorlike points (see cat. nos. 45-52).'^'

Ibn al-Bawwab (d. 1022), who was also an illuminator, is believed to
have perfected the manner of writing developed by ibn Muqla by bringing a
sense of grace and elegance to the geometric harmony of the latter's charac-
ters. He is especially noted for his perfection of tiaskhi and muhaqqaq. Yaqut
al-Mustasimi (d. 1298), by inventing a way of trimming reed pens and clip-
ping their nibs to form an oblique cut, helped establish new norms of beauty
in writing.

Despite the importance of these calligraphers and the many manuscripts
known from secondary sources to have been copied by them, there are almost
no examples of writing that can be securely attributed to them. For instance,
of the sixty-four Qur'ans and numerous secular works reputedly produced
by ibn al-Bawwab, only one Qur'an, dated looo-iooi and now in the Ches-
ter Beatty Library, is unquestionably by him.^ Consequently, our knowledge
of the work of these masters is at best cursory. Although this problem can
be viewed as largely one of connoisseurship, it raises the issue of whether it is
valid to look at the evolution of calligraphy as a linear development focused
around these figures. This is not to say that one cannot — or should not —
distinguish between the contribution of individual hands. Indeed, this is not
only possible but is essential given the critical mass of material that exists
from the fourteenth century on, both for the great masters, such as Mir Ali
al-Tabrizi (ca. 1340-1420), Sultan Ali (1442-1519), and Shaykh Hamdullah
(d. 1520), and those who are less well known. The question, however, is the
extent to which information derived from this kind of approach is necessary
to our understanding of Islamic calligraphy.

It can be argued, for instance, that the real issue is epistemological: what
are the salient characteristics of the script that give it its unique character,
and what are its operative elements? The distinction between Qur'anic scripts
and ordinary ones as articulated by Abbott" is important here because it

104

Fig. 9. Silver dirham of Ismail I, Tashkent, a.h.
283 (a.d. 896). Freer Gallery of Art; Gift of
Joel Hettger, SC-M 59.

suggests a basic division. Although certain kinds of script, such as knfic and
its variations, clearly are reserved for specific functions, like the copying
of Qur'ans or the embellishing of architectural monuments, it is not evident
that the internal codes that guide their structure differ significantly.

Several characteristics of Islamic calligraphy give it a distinct quality.
Among the most significant of these are the ability of individual scripts to be
almost endlessly modified; the adaptability of the scripts to all kinds of sur-
faces, from parchment and paper to stone and metal; the integration of a
variety of decorative motifs and forms into the schema of various scripts; and
the "automatic" impact of the letters themselves. The twenty-eight characters
of the Arabic alphabet are basically composed of three strokes: vertical,
horizontal, and diagonal. Most letters, such as kaf (J) and sin ((J*"), are made
up of a series of these strokes; others, however, like alif ( j ) and ra ( J ), are
the result of a single stroke. By altering the length ot the various components
of each character, particularly the horizontal ones, calligraphers were able to
change the appearance of a script without affecting its basic structure. Knfic,
for instance, can be written either in an extremely compact form (see fig.
9) or in a much more elongated one (see cat. no. 36), depending upon the
distance between the beginning and end of each letter. In addition, by manip-
ulating the shape of certain letters, numerous variations can be developed on
a standard script. In the western Muslim world, tor example, the sharp,
angular characters of knfic were given a more rounded form (see cat. no. 40).
This is particularly evident in the vertical strokes and final flourishes of some
letters that are turned into sweeping curves that plunge below the main line
of the script. Similarly, by twisting, braiding, and ornamenting the ends and
stems of certain letters, such as alif ( | ) and lam ( J ), a whole range of deco-
rative features can be added to a script. During the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries this technique reached its most complicated form when a number
of scripts, including knfic and iiasklii, were radically transformed as letters
were converted into human and animal shapes (see cat. no. 39 and fig. 11).

The inherent flexibility of the letters of the various scripts allowed them
to be adapted to almost any kind of surface yet maintain their essential
characteristics. Thus, the knfic and naskhi on the carved-stone building in-
scription (cat. no. 38) and the naskhi on the circular ornament (cat. no. 54)
both have a fluidity of line as if they were written in ink on paper. Moreover,
because the actual shape and size ot most letters can be altered, it is relatively
easy to modify scripts to meet the needs of a given surface or medium. Kn fic,
for instance, can be compressed and given a rounded form to fit on the face
of a circular coin (fig. 9), or stretched out and given an angular form to
follow the surface of a rectangular page (see cat. no. 36). The process of
adaptation enables calligraphy to become an integral part of an object's deco-
ration. This is particularly evident on a number of tenth- and eleventh-

Ititrodncfioti to Islamic Calligraphy 105

II

!

Fig. 10. Large ceramic plate with wide flattened
rim and low foot, Iran, tenth century. Freer
Gallery of Art, 52.11.

century Samanid plates and bowls (see cat. no. 37 and fig. 10), but it is by no
means limited to them. The curving horizontal lines of the script punctuated
by the strong vertical forms of some of the letters on these Samanid wares
create rhythms that are as evocative and powerful as the fmest ornamentation.
In fact, the bowls are often devoid of any kind of decoration other than an
inscription (see fig. 10).

The decorative possibilities of calligraphy are not limited to calligraphy's
use as part of an object's overall aesthetic program. The script itself can "ab-
sorb" a variety of motifs, thus further blurring the distinction between it and
its decoration. The most obvious examples of this integration are animated
scripts (see cat. no. 39 and fig. 12), in which the various figures and animals
depicting the letters of the alphabet take on a hfe of their own. More typical,
however, is the incorporation of such details as rosettes, medallions, and
floral designs into the fabric of the script. The arabesques on the rectangular
plaque (cat. no. 53) and the bottle (cat. no. 42), for instance, weave in and

106

Fig. II. Milestone of Caliph Abd al-Malik,
Palestine, 685-705. Musec du Louvre,
Dcpartement des antiquitcs Onentales (section
Islamique), AO 4087.

out of the script, holding the letters together and emphasizing their natural
flow. It is impossible to separate one from the other; they are part of a single
expression. In a similar way, the flower-strewn field of the frontispiece of the
late fourteenth-century Mamluk Qur'an (cat. no. 44), or the multicolored
diacritical marks and verse stops of the thirteenth-century North African
Qur'an (cat. no. 40), are an integral part of the script. The tendency to fuse
decorative forms with calligraphic ones is apparent even in the earliest ex-
amples of Islamic calligraphy. A milestone (fig. 1 1) erected for the caliph Abd
al-Malik (685-705), for example, has kufic letters that end in ornamental
flourishes, whereas ninth- and tenth-century Qur'ans (see cat. no. 36) often
show red diacritical marks that contrast to the dark-brown ink of the writing
in a vibrant play of colors and forms.

The most intriguing aspect of Islamic calligraphy, however, is its "auto-
matic" or symbolic qualities. Richard Ettinghausen and others have noted
that there are a large number of inscriptions in the Muslim world that are
either extremely difficult to read (no matter how well versed one is in the
relevant language), or so full of orthographic peculiarities or mistakes as to
render the text unreliable.^ The complicated inscriptions on such monuments
as the seventh-century Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, the eleventh-century
Qutb Miliar in Delhi, or the seventeenth-century Masjid-i Shah in Isfahan are
almost impossible to decipher even with an extensive knowledge of Arabic.
Moreover, their location above eye-level, often in places having obstructed
views, makes the task of reading them even more difficult. Furthermore,
most people who would have come into contact with such inscriptions likely
would have had, at best, only a cursory familiarity with the written language.
This is especially true of monuments like the Dome of the Rock and the
Qutb Minar that were constructed in largely non-Muslim areas and whose
messages were directed at precisely that part of the population that would
have had the most difficulty reading them.^'^ The same kind of problem is
presented by the highly modified and animated scripts discussed above.
Unless one takes great care and time and has a thorough knowledge of the
language, the information contained in the inscriptions is not accessible. For
example, the densely packed letters of the building inscription (cat. no. 38) or
the twisting forms of the people and animals that make up one of the epi-
graphs on the Freer Gallery's canteen (fig. 12), are so intricately worked and
elaborate that they can be read only by isolating them from the rest of the
object and deciphering them character by character.

The point is that in many cases the viewer was not expected actually to
read the text. This is especially clear in those instances in which an inscription
contains "errors" that transform its meaning. A most obvious example is the
misspelling of Badr al-Din Lulu's name on a tray in the Victoria and Albert
Museum (fig. 13) that was once part of the ruler's household." Instead of

Introduction to Islamic Calligraphy 107

giving Badr al-Din's honorific title, "Father of Virtue," it has "Father of
Oppressions," a change in nomenclature that would have been highly offen-
sive to Badr al-Din had he bothered to take note of it. Such contrivances
suggest that the mere presence of certain inscriptions was enough to trigger
an automatic response on the part of the viewer. Whether or not that person
was able to read the words of the text, the very shape of the letters — through
their association with either the faith at large or a more private aspect of it —
conveyed a symbolic message. For example, the Qur'anic phrases that run
along the walls of many mosques and tombs do not need to be read word for
word for the essence of their message to be understood. Knowledge of the
Qur'anic allusions in the inscriptions is enough to reveal the pious context of
the text, hi a similar manner the inscriptions containing the names of caliphs
and holy phrases on some Fatimid robes of honor, which are too distorted by
decorative modifications to be read, probably were never meant to be read in
a literal sense. The "gestalt," as Ettinghausen calls it, of the inscription as a
whole and the inclusion of the caliph's name were all that were essential.

Two points follow from these observations. First, for an inscription to
set off an automatic response, the viewer must have a basic idea of the type of
message being imparted. Second, no matter how powerful the symbolic
associations of an inscription, its full meaning can be obtained only by a

Fig. 12. Brass canteen inlaid with silver and a
black organic material, Syria, ca. 1240. Freer
Gallery of Art, 41.10.

108

Fig. 13. Brass tray made for Badr al-Din Lulu,
Syria, ca. 1233-59. The Victoria and Albert
Museum, inv. no. 905-1907.

complete reading of its text. The semiotic dimensions ot calligraphy, how-
ever, give the inscription its full range of possible meanings. Indeed, few
artistic expressions can be interpreted on so many levels as calligraphy. The
classical concept of writing as the "geometry of the soul" — a notion echoed in
almost all Islamic treatises on the subject — perhaps more than any other
suggests calligraphy's extraordinary qualities. By seeing calligraphy not as an
act of the hand but of the whole being, classical philosophers emphasized its
transcendental quality. Within the Muslim world this notion was expressed
by such statements as;

Handwriting is the tongue of the hand. Style is the tongue of the intellect. The intellect
is the tongue of good actions and qualities. And good actions and qualities are the
perfection of man.

Through beautiful writing, thoughts and ideas were given a concrete
form that enhanced their meaning and charged their message with a special
power. It is this aspect of calligraphy that is so exciting and that is reflected in
the varied objects in this exhibition.

1. Ahmad 1959, p. 49.

2. Abul Fazl Allami, Ani-i Akbari, 3 vols. Translated into English by H. Blochniann et al. (New Delhi: Munshiram
Manoharlal, 1977), vol. i, p. 103.

3. Esoteric messages are seen in the symbolism associated with the twenty-eight letters of the Arabic alphabet,
which are often used to create chronograms through their numerical values based on their connection with the
twenty-eight stations of the moon. For more information on this numerical system, see Schimmel 1970, pp. litf.

4. See Abbott 1939 and "Arabic Paleography," Ars hlamica 8 (1941): 65-104; Schimmel 1970 and Schimmel 1984;
Lings 1977 and Lings and Safadi 1976; Safadi 1978; and Grohmann 1971.

5. See, for instance, Abu Haiyan al-Tawhidi's comments in Rosenthal 1948, p. 4.

6. For more information about the different scripts, see Safadi 1978, pp. 10-24, 'ind "W;<j«."

7. Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, Ireland, MS. 1 431.

8. "Arabic Paleography," p. 69tf.

9. See, for example, Ettinghausen 1974, pp. 297-317.

10. See, for instance, the interpretation of the Dome of the Rock articulated by Oleg Grabar in "The Umayyad
Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem," An Oricntalis 3 (1959): 33-62.

11. Ettinghausen 1974, pp. 304-5.

12. Ibid., p. 304.

13. From Abu Haiyan al-Tawhidi as translated in Rosenthal 1948, p. 11.

Introduction to Islamic Calligraphy 109

36 Page from a Qur'an

kufic

North Africa(?), late 9th to early loth century
ink, color, and gold on parchment
height 28.3 cm. {iiVh in); width 39.8 cm (i5"/i6 in)
45. i6v

The thick, almost heavy strokes of this
page's calligraphy are typical of early kii fic.
By tinting the background with blue and
using red diacritical marks, the calligrapher
has created a lively series ot surface patterns
that emphasize the powerful movement ot
the letters. The horizontal format ot the
page, which is common to many early
Qur'ans, responds to the natural forms of
the script that call for long horizontal
strokes. Although the oldest Qur'ans that
have survived (dating to the eighth century)'
avoid the use of ornamental devices and
illuminations, by the ninth century they had
become common.- The finely decorated
band of illumination that divides the page
serves a dual function: it relieves the stark-
ness of the calligraphy and indicates the
start of a new chapter. The tour lines above
the illumination are from the last two verses
of Sura XXI, "The Prophets"; the seven
below it include the bcismala and the first two
verses of Sura XXII, "The Pilgrimage."
The widespread use o( kufic throughout
most of the Muslim world during the
eighth and ninth centuries makes it ex-
tremely difficult to identify the locations
where manuscripts were produced during
this period, though major centers seem
to have been in North Africa, Iraq, and Iran.
Although several other Qur'ans use colored
parchment (most notably one written in
gold ink against a deep-blue background;
fig. 14),^ this type is extremely rare.

Fig. 14. Page trom a blue vellum Qur'an, North Atrica, late ninth century. Fogg Art Museum;
Francis H. Burr Memorial fund, 1967.23.

1. Such as the copy of the Qur'an in the British Library
(Or. 2165) written in mail script.

2. For more information on the development of early
kufic, see Lings and Safadi 1976, pp. 1-23, and Lings
1977, PP- 15-53-

3. For more information on this manuscript, see Welch
1979. PP- 48-49-

Published: Atil 1975, no. 2

I 10

Islamic Calligraphy 1 1 1

37 Deep Bowl with Flaring Sides

kufic

Iran, loth century

ceramic with butF paste and transparent glaze
height 1 1.2 cm (4^16 in); diameter 39.3 cm (i3'^/i6 in)
57-24

With its bold juxtaposition of colors and
forms, this bowl is one of the finest Samanid
(819-1005) slip-painted wares extant.
Written in an eastern Iranian style, the kufic
inscription reads, "It is said that he who is
content with his own opinion runs into
danger. Blessing to the owner." The inscrip-
tion is written around an abstract tree
whose polylobed branches revolve in a
clockwise direction. The movement created
by the sweep of the branches parallels that
of the inscription, which also reads in a
clockwise direction, and emphasizes the
roundness of the bowl. Esin Atil has noted
that the subtle placement of the trunk, with
its one reversed branch, points out the
beginning of the inscription.' Panels of
dark-brown dots and red and brown blos-
soms decorate the areas between the letters
and link the words together. Eastern kufic,
which was developed in Iran during the
ninth century, is lighter and more dynamic
than its parent script.- Instead of long,
thick, horizontal strokes (see cat. no. 36),
emphasis is on diagonal lines with triangu-
lar-shaped letters. By softening the thrust of
the strokes, the creators of eastern kufic
(also referred to as al-kufi al-farisi or al kufi
al-haghdadi) produced a script that had an
almost infinite decorative potential.^

1. Atil 1973, p. 37.

2. Lings 1977, p. 16.

3. Ibid.

Published: Atil 1973, no. 12

I 12

Islamic Calligraphy 113

38 Building Inscription

ktdftc and naskhi

by Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Ahmad Asid (or Usaid)
Iran; dated a.h. 549 (a.d. 1154-55)
carved stone

height 92.5 cm (36% in); width 67.6 cm (26% in)
48.16

This elaborately carved inscription records
the construction of a mosque associated
with the sanctuary of Ali b. Musa al-Riza,
the eighth imam, who died in Mashhad
in A.D. 818. The construction of the mosque
was ordered by Junaid b. Ammar al-Ala
during the reign of Sultan Sanjar (r. 1118-
57), who repaired the tomb chamber of the
shrine in 11 18.' By using a series of different
scripts (plaited kujic around the edges,
naskhi and kufic on the inner bands, and
simple kufic just below the bosses of the
arch), carved on different planes, the callig-
rapher, Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Ahmad
Asid (or Usaid), created an extremely rich
surface that reverberates with the patterns
of the lines. The mihrabhke shape of the
inscription gives it a pious air that is echoed
in the inscriptions, which include passages
from suras III, XXXIII, XXIII, and CXII
of the Qur'an, and a lengthy prayer to
the twelve Shi'ite imams that can be read as
follows:

In the name of Allah, the merciful, the All-
compassionate. O Allah, bless Muhammad, the
chosen one, and Ali, the approved one, and
Fatima, the resplendent one, and Hasan, the
pure, and Husain, the pious, and Ali h. al-
Husain, the ornament of the worshipers, and
Muhammad h. Ali, the learned, and Jafar
b. Muhammad, the just, and Musa b. Jafar,
who suppresses his an^er, and Ali b. Musa, the
approved one, and Muhammad, the pious, and
Ali b. Muhammad, the lastitig proof, the
expected one, the Mahdi. May the prayers of
Allah be on all oj them!

The Shi'ite sentiments of this prayer and of
Sura XXXIII (in which the partisans of
Ali are quoted to prove the intimate union
of Ali with the prophet) are not surprising
since this inscription comes from one of the
holiest Shi'ite sanctuaries in all of Iran. At
least two other inscriptions by Ahmad b.
Muhammad are known: the tombstone of
Fatima bint Zaid dated 1 141- and a tomb-
stone now in the Metropolitan Museum of
Art dated 1150. ^ A third tombstone, dated
1 138, almost identical in shape and design
to the building inscription, may also be by
Ahmad b. Muhammad (fig. 15).'*

1. Repertoire dnonologique d'epigraphie arahe 8, no. 2978.

2. Arthur Upham Pope, Phyllis Ackerman et al., Sur-
vey oj Persian Art (London and New York: Oxford
University Press, 1938-39), vol. 5, pi. 519 E.

3. Gaston Wict, Exposition persane de ig^i, pi. 10: A.

4. This object bears the name of 'Uniar ibn al-Qasim
al-Harrani, which has also been construed as "the work
of Abu'l Qasim al-Harrani." See Welch 1979, pp.
108-9.

Fig. 15. Marble tombstone, Iran, a.h. 533
(a.d. 1 1 38). Boston Museum of Fine Arts; Maria
Antionette Evans Fund, 31.711.

114

Islamic Calligraphy 1 15

39 Pen Box

kufic and imskhi

made by Shazi for Majd al-Mulk al-Muzaffar
Iran, dated A. H. 607 (a.d. 1210-11)

cast brass, engraved and chased; inlaid with copper, silver, and a black organic material

height 5.0 cm (2 in); length 31.4 cm (12% in); width 6.4 cm (2716 in)

36.7

Pen boxes were an essential part of a callig-
rapher's equipment. In addition to contain-
ing an ink pot, a pen box would have held
several carefully made reed plumes, a pair
of scissors, a knife for shaping the plumes,
and an assortment of other necessary items.
The finely worked inlaid decoration of this
box, with its deft interplay of forms, sug-
gests how important calligraphy was for
Majd al-Mulk, the patron of the piece.
Along the sides of the box an Arabic in-
scription in animated naskhi is set against a
scrolling background of animal heads; on
the lid a less elaborate inscription in naskhi
surrounds a central field of scrolling animal
heads. A third inscription, in animated
kufic, runs along the sides of the lid. The
animated forms that surge through the
inscriptions and the scrolls unity the decora-
tion of the box and link together the
rhythms of the three inscriptions. The
inscriptions read:

Top of the lid (naskhi)

The most iUustrious excellency, the great, the
wise, the supported [by God], the triumphant,
the victorious, Majd al-Mulk, the honor of state
and religion, the luminous star of Islam and

Muslims, the chosen among kings and sultans,
the light of the nation, the splendor of the
community, the example of the great and the
perfect, the pillar of dignity, the lord of viziers,
the king of lieutenants, the possessor of good
fortune, the minister of Iran, the grand vizier of
Khorasan, al-Muzaffar, son of the deceased
vizier Majd al-Mulk, may God multiply
[increase] his power.

Side of the lid (animated kufic)

The work of Shazi, the engraver [or designer],
in the months of the year seven and six hundred.

Sides of the base (animated naskhi)

Glory and prosperity and power and safety and
health and [God's] care and satisfaction and
[Muhammad's] intercession and aid and victo-
riousness and increase [vision of God] and
thankfulness and gratitude and favor and tran-
quility and comfort and mercy and increase
[vision of God] and ahundancy and divine
support and religiosity and duration and suffi-
ciency and perpetuity everlasting to its owner.

Published: Atil 1985, no. 14.

Islatilic Calligraphy 117

40 Two Pa^es from a Qur'an

kufic

North Africa, 13th century

ink, color, and gold on parchment

each leaf: height 16.5 cm (6yi6 in); width 15.5 cm {6V\(, in)
29.68r-29.69v

The flowing movement of the script used
here, with its sweeping curves and slightly
rounded letters, is characteristic of western,
or maghribi, kufic. Like eastern kufic (see
cat. no. 37) this version of the script appears
to have developed during the ninth century.
It was used throughout North Africa and
Spain. Although the Qur'an from which
these pages come was written on parch-
ment, by the thirteenth century most
manuscripts produced in the Muslim world
were executed on paper. The vertical format
of the pages, however, is typical of Qur'ans
copied during this period. The passages
are from Sura V, "The Food," verses fifteen
through eighteen. A number of diacritical
and orthographic marks have been used
to indicate the proper transcription of each
word. Diacritical marks and vowels are
written in brown, the sukun (a consonant
sign) and the tashdid (a doubling sign) in
blue, and the hamza (a vowel) and the wash
are marked as yellow and green dots.
Normal verse stops are indicated by gold
knots, and every fifth knot is marked by a
finely drawn gold leaf. Although the
various marks and signs are essential to the
correct rendering of the text, they also
add to its aesthetic appeal by creating a
secondary series of patterns that enhance the
beauty of the calligraphy.

Published: Atil 1975, no. 7

29.68r

118

Islamic Calligraphy 119

41 Fragmentary Page from a Qur'an

muhaqqaq

Iran, 14th century(?)
ink and gold on paper

height 17.8 cm (7 in); width 36.1 cm (i4yi6in)
45.18

Written in a bold muhaqqaq script with the
word Allah in gold, the calligraphy of
this page is as dramatic as it is strong. The
text is from Sura III, "The House of Imran,"
verses seventy-nine and eighty:

Wlioso desires another religion than Islatn, it
shall

not be accepted of him; in the next world he shall

be among the losers.
How shall God guide a people who have

disbelieved

after they believed, and bore witness that the
Messenger is true, and the clear signs came to
them? '

During the fourteenth century, muhaqqaq,
like thuluth (see cat. no. 42), was widely
used throughout the Muslim world, from
Egypt to India, for the copying of large
Qur'ans. With its tall slender verticals and
sweeping sublinear strokes, muhaqqaq is
at once monumental in its forms and dy-
namic in its movement. The combination of

powerful horizontal and vertical letters
gives the script a grandeur that may explain
its name, which means "strongly expressed
or realized." - The page comes from either a
fourteenth-century Qur'an or, possibly, a
fifteenth-century one. The result of political
and social turmoil that followed the collapse
of the il-Khanid empire (1256-13 53) was
that few Iranian Qur'ans survive from that
period. Another fragmentary page from
this manuscript is in the Library of Con-
gress.^

1. All excerpts from the Qur'an are from Arthur J.
Arberry's translation. The Korean Interpreted , 2 vols.
(London and New York: George Allen and Unwin/
Macmillan, 1955).

2. Lings and Safadi 1976, p. 48.

3. Cons. no. 34. The page in the Library of Congress,
bought from the same dealer, Kirkor Minassian, as the
Freer page, may form the lower half of the Freer page.

120

detail

Islatnic Calligraphy 121

42 Bottle

thuluth

Syria, mid- 14th century

glass decorated in polychrome enamels and gold
height 49.7 cm (19^16 in); diameter 24.8 cm (9^4 in)
34.20

With its elongated neck and flaring body,
this bottle is both striking and elegant.
A series of medallions, scrolls, and floral
designs decorate the piece. Inscribed along
the widest part of the body in thuluth
characters is the Arabic phrase, "Glory to
our master, the sultan, al-Malik, al-
Mujahid, the wise, the just." Three large
medallions punctuate the inscription, and
fine red and gold outlines set it ofli^from the
blue background of the glass. Thuluth, like
kufic, was often used for monumental
inscriptions. Here the long shafts of the alifs
and the stems of the horizontal characters
bow slightly, emphasizmg the rounded
shape of the bottle's body. The subtle
manipulation of the script's form is typical
of Islamic calligraphy. The inscription's

titles refer to al-Malik al-Mujahid Sayf al-
Din Ah ibn Dawud (r. 1322-63), the Rasu-
lid ruler of Yemen.

Published: Atil 1975, no. 74

detail

122

Islamic Calligraphy 123

43 Page from a Qur'an

kufic and iiaskhi

copied by Shadhi ibn Muhammad ibn Ayyub (a.d. 1281-1341/42)

Egypt, dated Ramadan a.h. 713 (a.d. December 1313)

ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper

height 34.4 cm {liVie in); width 25.9 cm {10V4 in)

38.15

Written in naskhi, with sweeping gold
letters outlined in black, this page is as
beautiful as it is bold. It is from the begin-
ning of Sura XXXII, "Prostration." The
chapter heading is in kufic against a blue
ground at the top of the page and reads,
"Sura [of] the Prostration, thirty verses,
Mecca." After this is the basmala, the letters
alif, lam, and mini, and verses one through
eight and most of nine:

The sending dowti of the book, wherein no doubt

is,jrom the lord oj all being.
Or do they say, "He has forged it?," Say:
"Not so; it is the truth from thy Lord
that thou mayest warn a people to whom no
Warner came before thee, that haply so they may

be guided."
God is He that created the heavens and the

earth,

and what between them is, in six days,

then seated himself upon the Throne.

Apart from Him you have no protector

neither mediator; will you not remember?

He directs the affair from heaven to earth,

then it goes up to him in one day, whose measure

is

a thousand years of your counting.

He is the knower oj the Unseeti and the Visible,

the All-Mighty, the All-Compassionate ,

who has created all things well.

And He originated the creation of man out of

clay,

then he fashioned his progeny of an extraction of
mean water,

then He shaped him, and breathed His spirit in
him.

And He appointed for you hearing, and sight,

and hearts;
little thanks you show.

On the verso of the page are the final words
of the ninth verse, "They say, 'What, when
we have gone astray in the earth, shall we
indeed be in a new creation?'" up to the
beginning of the twenty-first verse. A finely
drawn medallion with the word Allah
inscribed in it marks the fifth verse of the
chapter and acts as a visual counterpoint to
the brilliant illumination above it. This is
one of four detached pages from a Qur'an
now in the Turk ve Islam Eserleri Muzesi in
Istanbul.' The Qur'an was ordered by the
Mamluk sultan al-Nasir Muhammad (r.

1294-95, 1299-1309, 1309-40) and bears an
elaborate certificate of commissioning that
reads:

For the exalted imperial library of Sultan al-
Malik al-Nasir, may Allah prolong his days and
unfurl his banners in the East and West, exalt
his power and make the kings of the earth obey
his limitless authority.'^

According to the manuscript's colophon,
which is dated Ramadan a.h. 713 (a.d.
December 13 13), the manuscript was copied
by Shadhi ibn Muhammad ibn Ayyub, a
minor Ayyubid prince who was a grandson
of al-Malik al-Zahir Shadhi. He was born
in A.D. 1281 and died suddenly in a.d.
1341-42.^

1. MS. 450. Among the other dispersed pages from
this manuscript are a second page in the Freer Gallery
(acc. no. 38.32) and a page in the Boston Museum
of Fine Arts.

2. As translated by David James m "Some Observations
on the Calligrapher and Illuminators of the Koran of
Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Jashnagir," Muqarnas 2 (1984):
152-53-

3. Ibid., p. 157, note 25.

124

44 Two Pages from a Qur'an

kufic

Egypt, late 14th century
ink, color, and gold on paper

each leaf: height 32.9 cm (13 '/s in); width 24.8 cm {gWu, in)
48.9r-32. IV

This double frontispiece to one of the
sections of the Qur'an is decorated with
gold flowers, medallions, and trefoil-shaped
ornaments against a deep brown and blue
ground. The three lines of kufic on each

page are written in white and outlined in
gold. They are from verses seventy-five
through seventy-seven (on the right) and
seventy-eight through eighty (on the left) of
Sura LVI, "Terror":

M).' / swear by the fallings of the stars
(and that is indeed a mighty oath, did you hut
know it)

it is surely a noble Koran in a hidden Book

none but the purified shall touch,

a sending down from the Lord oj all Being.

126

These verses, which describe the Qur'an's
sacredncss, are among the most popular in
the book. The pages' richly patterned
surface provides the perfect counterpoint to
the majestic words of the text. The linking
of text and design, pattern and calligraphy.

is a device used to emphasize critical parts
of the manuscript while creating a feeling of
sumptuousness that is consistent with the
divine character of the book.

Published: Atil 1975, no. 43.

Islamic Calligraphy 127

45 Khusrau u Shirin ofNizami

kufic and nastaliq

copied by Mir Ali ibn Hasan al-Sultani (ca. 13 40-1 420)
Tabriz, ca. 1 410-15

ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper

with six miniatures (one of which was added during the sixteenth century)
per foho: height 18.3 cm (y'/t in); width 12.7 cm (5 in)
31^ 29; illustrated: folio iv

The pages of this copy of Khusrau u Shirin,
originally composed by Nizam ad-Din Abu
Muhammad Ilyas Nizami in 11 80, and
now set into gold-flecked margins, arc
among the tew examples of writing that can
be confidently linked to Mir Ali ibn Hasan
al-Sultani (also known as Mir Ali al-Tabrizi)
who is credited with inventing nastaliq. The
colophon of the manuscript, which is
partially destroyed, reads:

Blessing and peace on the prophet and, . . . and
on all mortals, and on the soul of the wonder of
the age Shaikh Auhad al-Din Nizami ofGanja
all glory and honor. Copied by the slave, the
asker for divine pardon from God, Ali ibn
Hasan al-Sultani in . . . the capital city of
Tabriz may God make it great. Completed by
the grace of God the most high with affection
and . . .

Although the date of the manuscript's
completion has been lost, it can be attrib-
uted to around 1410-15, when Tabriz was
under Timurid (i 370-1 506) control, on the
basis of its five contemporary miniatures,'
which are extremely close in style to some
ot the paintings in two anthologies prepared
for Iskandar Mirza in 1410-11.- According
to legend, Mir All al-Sultani (who lived
from around 1340 to 1420) had a dream
about flying geese interpreted for him by
All (the fourth caliph and the prophet's
cousin, foster brother, and son-in-law), that

inspired him to perfect a new manner of
writing-^ based on a combination of naskh
and taliq. The relationship between Mir Ali
and Ali, though obviously imaginary, was
considered precternal by such writers as
Qadi Ahmad'* and may explain the subject
matter of the sixteenth-century miniature
that was added to the manuscript. The
painting depicts a "sacred conversation"
between the prophet Muhammad and AH
alluding, perhaps, to Ali's "conversation"
with Mir Ali. The distinguishing features of
Mir AH's calligraphy are the minuteness of
his hand and the forward flow of his letters.
Shapes have been manipulated (especially
the shafts of such characters as alifs, sins,
and shins) to develop patterns of emphasis
that draw the reader to critical parts of the
text.^ Variations in width give Mir Ali's
letters an elasticity and resonance that are
unprecedented. The dynamism of Mir Ali's
nastaliq contrasts to the more static kufic of
the illuminated heading ot the page to
create a vibrant play ot forms. Through
students such as Jatar al-Tabrizi, who
worked for the Timurid prince Baysuiighur
between 1421 and 1433, nastaliq became
the predominant script used tor the copying
of manuscripts in fifteenth- and sixteenth-
century Iran.

1. The date of this manuscript has been the subject ot a
great deal of scholarly debate. A slightly earlier date tor
it has recently been suggested by Basil Gray in his

article "The History of Miniature Painting: The
Fourteenth Century" in Gray 1979, p. 117.

2. These are now in the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian
(L.A. 161) and the British Library (Or. 27 261).

3. Schimmel 1984, p. 29.

4. Ahmad 1959, p. 116.

5. The dynamics of Mir Ali's calligraphy are discussed
at length by Priscilla Soucek in her article "The Arts of
Calligraphy" in Gray 1979, pp. 23-24.

128

-^'V ""^^i. . -'^ ,,.r •

1 «K'

\ ♦ I * .

• . . . •

• « «« ,»

i /•

IC«»CXHJfTOW»>t*«MMCTO«KTf»»I>r

• • •

I * ' * i

IsldfHic Calligraphy 129

46 Three Manuscripts Bound in One Volume

kufic and nastaliq

copied by Shah Mahmud al-Nishapuri and SaHm al-Katib
Iran, ca. 1523

ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper

per page: height 26. i cm (ioyi6 in); width 16.3 cm {6V\f, in)

37.35; illustrated: folios iv and 28r

The three manuscripts contained in this
volume (folios 1-8 recto; 9 verso-28 recto;
and 23 verso-28 recto) are all poetical texts.
On folio 8 recto of the first manuscript is a
colophon signed by Shah Mahmud al-
Nishapuri and dated A.H.930 (a.d. 1523). A
second colophon, on folio 28 recto of the
third manuscript, indicates that it was
copied by Salim al-Katib. Shah Mahmud al-
Nishapuri was one of the leading calligra-
phers of the Safavid period (i 501-1786).
Born in Nishapur, he entered Shah Ismail's
(r. 1501-24) service in Tabriz before work-
ing for Shah Tahmasp (r. 1524-76).' He was
noted for his mastery oi nastaliq, the script
used in the copying of all of the manuscripts
bound in the volume. A pupil of Maulana
Abdi, Shah Mahmud was given the honor-
ific zarrin qalam ("golden pen") and was
considered by many equal to the great
nastaliq masters Sultan Ali and Mir Ali.
During the mid-i540s, when Shah Tahmasp
began to lose interest in calligraphy and
painting, he moved to Mashhad, where he
lived on the upper floor of a madrasah
known as the qadam gah-i hadrat-i imam
(arrival place of the holy imam), until his
death in 1564-65.- Salim al-Katib, the
calligrapher of the third manuscript in the
volume, was a pupil of Shah Mahmud.^
The son of an Abyssinian, he lived in
Mashhad and was noted for his colored
writing {rang nivisi) and tunereal epitaphs.
According to Huart, he died in 1582-83.''

The pages of the manuscripts written by
Shah Mahmud and Salim al-Katib have
been carefully sprinkled with gold dust and
set in margins of diiicrcnt colors that are
either covered wtih large gold flecks or
marbleizcd. Shah Mahmud, writing in
black ink against a rich cream-colored
paper, creates small, perfectly formed
characters that are almost laserlikc in their
precision. The fineness of his lines are
repeated in the blue and gold illuminations
that surround his couplets. Salim al-Katib's
verses, unlike his master's, are written in a
white ink against a deep-green background.
His calligraphy is more open and rounded
than Shah Mahmud's and flows across each
page in large, sweeping curves.

1. Ahmad 1959, pp. 134-38.

2. Ibid., p. 152. It IS possible, however, that this date is
incorrect as there are several manuscripts apparently
copied by Shah Mahmud that have colophons later than

28r

A.H. 1564-65 (such as a Chihil Kalima, now in the Turk
ve Islam Eserleri Muzesi in Istanbul, which is dated

A.H. 1574-75).

3. Ibid.

4. C. Huart, Les C^alligraphcs el /« Mitiiaturistcs de
I'Orietil Muiubnan (Paris: Ernest Leroux, Editeur, 1908),
p. 234.

IV

Islamic Calligraphy 131

47 Binding to a Qur'an

nastaliq

Iran, ca. 1 530-40

opaque watcrcolors and gold on leather stretched over pasteboard
height 37.5 cm (14% in); width (per panel) 24.6 cm (9"/i(. in)
34-17

mm

With its extensive gilding, tooling, and
filigree work this binding is among the fin-
est book covers produced during the reign
of Shah Tahmasp (r. 1524-76). Indeed, only
the cover tor Shah Tahmasp s Shahnama (hg.
16) can rival this piece for the sumptuous-
ness of Its finish and the quality of the
workmanship.' The outside ot the binding
was made by cutting depressions for the
central field and border areas in the card-
board support and then tilling the areas
with paste. Leather was then stretched over
the entire surface of the board, and thin
gold sheets were laid over this. Hot metal
stamps, incised with scrolling designs and
Qur'anic inscriptions, were then applied to
the surface to fuse the gold to the leather
and create the raised patterns. The surface
was then refined; the edges of the forms
rendered in relief were sharpened and the
flowers were painted in.

The inside of the cover has also been
extensively worked. In addition to emboss-
ing, large areas of this part of the cover have
been decorated with colored paper overlaid
with designs cut out of gilded leather. The
result of this treatment is a jewel-like surface
that is as opulent as it is dazzling. Around
the outside of each of the covers, written in

a fine nastaliq, is the "Throne Verse," one
of the most moving passages in the Qur'an,
which reads:

God

there is no God hut He, the living, the

Everlasting.
Slumber seizes Him not, neither sleep; to Him

belongs

all that is in the heavens and the earth.

Wlio is there that shall intercede with Him save

by His leave?
He knows what lies before them and what is

after them,
and they comprehend not anything of His

knowledge save such as He wills.
His Throne comprises the heavens and earth;
the preserving of them oppresses Him not;
He is the All-high, the All-glorious.

A portion of the verse is also repeated on
the inside of the covers; on the back of the
hinge, writen in gold, are two more
Qur'anic inscriptions: "Let none touch it
but the purified!" and "A revelation trom
the Lord of the Worlds."

I. Dickson and Welch 19K1, vol. 2, pis. 262 and 263.

Fig. 16. Leather binding, han, ci. i_S30. Artluir
M. Houghton Collection.

detail

Islamic Calligraphy 133

48 Calligraphic Page

nastaliq

by Mir Ali (d. 1556)

Bukhara, dated a.h. 940 (a.d. 1533-34)

opaque watercolor and gold on paper

height 38.8 cm (151/4 in); width 25.7 cm {loVv, in)

48.28r

This page comes from an album known as
the Kevorkian album, named after the
dealer responsible for its dispersal during
the second quarter of this century. Now
divided between the Freer Gallery of Art
(which has nine pages) and the Metropolitan
Museum of Art (which has forty-one pages
and the covers), the album appears to have
been assembled for the Mughal emperor
Shah Jahan (r. 1628-57).' On the verso of
this page is a portrait of Jahangir (r. 1605-
27) inscribed to Abu'l Hasan.- The four
verses of writing on this page can be trans-
lated as follows:

Wlien Mirza Khwajagi, that Asaf of the Age,
Constructed such a noble edifice,
The teacher "Wisdom" said for its date,
"A wonderful, beautiful and fine mosque."

Composed and written by the needy Mir Ali,
may Allah cover his defects?

The numerical equivalent of " 'A wonder-
ful, beautiful and fine mosque,'" is 940,
which corresponds to the date a.h. 940
(a.d. 1533-34) written at the bottom of the
inscription. Mir Ali, also known as Mir
Ali al-Husayni, was one of the Mughals's
favorite calligraphers, and they continously
sought examples of his writing. The long,
sweeping curves of the nastaliq used here,
and the sharp, almost explosive flourishes
of the endings of certain letters such as nuns
( (J ) and sins ) are typical of Mir Ali's
work. The calligraphy has been surrounded
by a brilliant gold background decorated
with scrolling flowers and flying birds. A
fine red line separates the dark, bluish gray
paper of the calligraphy from the gold
ground, creating a vivid outline that en-
hances the flowing movement of the letters.
The background, with its finely drawn
flowers and realistically rendered birds, ap-
pears to have been added at the Mughal
court — probably during the late sixteenth
or early seventeenth century, when this kind
of work was typical"* — as
an embellishment to the page.^

1. For more information on the provenance and history
of this album, see Beach 1981, pp. 177-92.

2. Illustrated in ibid., p. 184.

3. I am grateful to Ibrahim Pourhadi of the Library of
Congress and to Z. A. Desai for their help in translat-
ing these verses.

4. This kind of background can be seen in such manu-
scripts as a copy of the Gulistaii of Sadi dated 1582-83,
now in the collection of the Royal Asiatic Society of
Great Britain (a page of which is published in color in
Michael Brand and Glenn D. Lowry, Akhar's India: Art
from the Mughal City of Victory [New York: Asia Society,
1985], p. 66).

5. Although It is also possible that this work is contem-
porary with the calligraphy, its lines often run over the
"margin," separating the writing from the background,
which suggests that it is a later addition. Moreover,
although there are precedents in mid-sixteenth-century
Iranian painting for the naturalism of the birds, rarely
are birds more than minor details in the overall design.

Islamic Calligraphy 135

49 Haft Manzar of Hatifi

nastaliq

copied by Mir Ali (d. 1556) for Abd al-Aziz Bahadur Khan (r. 1534-39)

Bukhara, dated a. h. 944 (a.d. 1538)

ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper

with a double frontispiece and two miniatures inscribed to Shaykh Zadeh
per page: height 25.9 cm (ioyi6 in); width 16.2 cm (dYs in)
56.14; illustrated: folios 3v-4r

Hatifi was the pseudonym used by Abdallah
Jami (d. 1520-21), the nephew of the
celebrated poet Abdur Rahman Jami. Hati-
fi's Haft Manzar (Seven Visages) was com-
posed as part of a "Quintet" inspired by the
Khamsa of the early thirteenth-century
poet Nizami.' On folio 3 recto is an elabo-
rate inscription by Shahjahan (r. 1628-57),
the fifth Mughal ruler of India, indicating
that the manuscript entered his library
on the eighth of Jumada II, a.h. 1037 (a.d.
February 14, 1628), the day of his accession
to the throne, and was valued at tour
thousand rupees. Abu'l Ghazi Sultan Abd
al-Aziz Bahadur, the patron of the manu-
script, was the fourth Shaybanid ruler of
Transoxiana. Under the Shaybanids (1500-
1598), Bukhara became a major cultural
center that attracted many Safavid artists
such as Shaykh Zadeh. In 1528-29, when
Herat was captured by the Shaybanids, Mir
Ali was taken to Bukhara, where he worked
until his death. According to the colophon,
the manuscript was produced under the
supervision of Sultan Mirak, the head of
Abd al-Aziz's library, who "trained, theo-
retically and practically, calligraphers and
painters to a level beyond description."-
Considered one of the greatest caUigraphers
of his age, Mir Ali was especially renown
for his mastery o( nastaliq. Despite his
prolific work under the Shaybanids (see cat.
no. 48), he was extremely unhappy in
Bukhara and even went so far as to record
his thoughts in writing:

A long life of exercise bent my body like a harp,
Until the handwriting of this unjortiinate one

had become of such a canon
That all the kings of the world sought me out,

whereas

In Bukhara, for means of existence, my liver is

steeped in blood
My entrails have been burnt up by sorrow. Wliat

am I to do?
How shall I manage?
For I have no way out of this town,
This misfortune has fallen on my head for the

beauty of my writing.
Alas! Mastery in calligraphy has become a chain

on

the feet of this demented one.-^

1. Browne 1928, vol. 4, p. 229.

2. Khwaja Hasan Nisari as quoted by M. M. Ashrafi-
Aini in his article "The School of Bukhara" in Gray
1979, p. 268.

3. Ahmad 1959, pp. 130-31.

overleaf: full view, cat. no. 49

136

detail, 3V

Islamic Calligraphy

137

Islamic Calligraphy 139

fc

Islamic Calligraphy 139

50 Calligraphic Page

tarassul

by Kamal al-Din (d. a.d. 1556-57)

Herat, dated Ramadan a.h. 959 (a.d. August-September 1551)
opaque watercolor and gold on paper
height 22.8 cm (9 in); width 13.4 cm (5yi6 in)
29.64

This is one of three pages in the Freer
Gallery signed by Kamal al-Din,' a six-
teenth-century Iranian calligrapher. The
looping connections of the long vertical
letters (such as lam and alif) and the stag-
gered placement of the words are typical of
a type of writing known as tarassul, which is
one of the taliq, or "hanging," scripts. The
curved alignment of the verses accentuates
the script's dense appearance. By using a
combination of white, yellow, and blue
inks, Kamal al-Din has added another
element of complexity to the script's inher-
ently animated character. The result is a
dramatic interweaving of line, color, and
form. Kamal al-Din was a native of Herat
who lived for some time in Qum before
entering Shah Tahmasp's service in Tabriz.
He was known for his mastery of the six
traditional scripts (see p. 103), diluting of
lapis lazuli, and reading of the Qur'an.
A humble dervish, he refused the many
presents (which included, among other
items, a tent, a horse, and a camel) that the
shah tried to bestow on him.- He must,
however, have been proud of the title he
received from the shah, "Ikhtiyar al-Munshi
al-Sultani," for he used this, or a variation
of this, on all of the pages in the Freer's
collection. At some point before his death
in 1556-57, he returned to Herat, for he has
stated on this page that it was executed
there. The text, in heavily Arabicized
Persian, is an address filled with good
wishes for a high-ranking personality.

1. The others are 29.63 and 29.65.

2. Ahmad 1959, p. 152.

140

5 1 Haft Awrang of Jami

nastaliq

copied by Malik al-Dailami, Muhibb Ali, Shah Mahmud al-Nishapuri,
Aishi ibn Ishrati, and Rustam AH for Sultan Ibrahim Mirza
Iran, 1556-65

ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
with twenty-eight miniatures

per page: height 34.2 cm (13V2 in); width 23.2 cm (yVs in)
46.12; illustrated: folio 20r

This copy of Abdur Rahman Jami's Haft
Awrang (Seven Thrones) is one of the most
sumptuous Persian manuscripts ever pro-
duced. Each of its pages, written by the
leading calligraphers of the Safavid court, is
elaborately worked. The illuminations and
miniatures that accompany the text are as
dazzling as the calligraphy, and though none
of the paintings is signed, several of them
can be attributed to Shaykh Muhammad,
Muzaffar Ali, and Mirza Ali, who were
among the most important artists active in
Iran during the second half of the sixteenth
century.' Sultan Ibrahim Mirza, the patron
of the manuscript, was a nephew of Shah
Tahmasp (r. 1524-76), who made him the
governor of Mashhad in 1556 and permitted
him to marry one of his daughters. An
accomplished calligrapher and poet, Sultan
Ibrahim maintained in Mashhad an exten-
sive library (kitabkhana). The Haft Awrang
has eight colophons stating that it was
copied in three cities — Mashhad (colophons
one, four, and five), Qazvin (colophon
three), and Herat (colophon seven) — over a
period of nine years beginning in October
1556 and ending on May 2, 1565. A ninth
colophon would probably have been found
on the now-missing final page.-^ Malik al-
Dailami, who copied the first and third
sections of the manuscript, was a native of
Qazvin and excelled in writing all six of the
standard scripts. He was originally attached
to Shah Tahmasp's library, but sometime
in the 1550s was appointed by the shah to
Sultan Ibrahim Mirza's studio. He accompa-
nied Ibrahim Mirza to Mashhad in 1556-
57, but was ordered by Shah Tahmasp
to return to Qazvin a year and a half later.^
He remained in Qazvin until his death in
1561-62. Muhibb Ali, Sultan Ibrahim's
librarian, copied the fourth and eighth
sections of the manuscript. He was noted
for his ability to write in either a minuscule
or large hand. Shah Mahmud al-Nishapuri
(see cat. no. 46) was responsible for the fifth
part of the manuscript. The sixth section of
the text was copied by Aishi ibn Ishrati, a
native of Herat who wrote in the manner of
Sultan Muhammad Nur. He worked in
Sultan Ibrahim's library in Mashhad. Rus-
tam Ali, who copied the seventh section of
the manuscript, was a nephew of the great

Timurid painter Bihzad. He was employed
by Bahram Mirza, Sultan Ibrahim's father,
before joining the latter in Mashhad, where
he died in 1562-63."* The nastaliq used by
these masters in the copying of the text
is remarkable for its uniform high quality
and brilliant control of line.

1. For more information on the painters of the Hafl
Awrang, see Dickson and Welch 198 1, vol. i, pp. 129-
69.

2. For a detailed discussion of the manuscript's produc-
tion, see Marianna Shreve Simpson, "The Production
and Patronage of the Haft Awrang by Jami in the Freer
Gallery of Art," Ars Orientalis 13 (1982): 93-1 11.

3. This move, occasioned by the shah's desire to have
Malik al-Dailami do the inscriptions for his newly con-
structed daulatkhana, occurred while he was in the
midst of copying the third section of the manuscript.

4. Ahmad 1959, pp. 141-44, 147, and 153-54.

142

Islamic Calligraphy 143

52 Page from an Album ofjahangir

nastaliq

India, ca. 1600

ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
height 42.5 cm {\6Va in); width 26.6 cm {10V2 in)
54. I i6r

This page once formed part of an album
assembled for Nur al-Din Jahangir (r. 1605-
27), the fourth Mughal ruler of India.' The
borders, which depict artisans of a library at
work, were painted at the beginning of the
seventeenth century; the calligraphic panel
in the center of the page can be attributed to
sixteenth-century Iran. Beginning at the
upper left and moving counterclockwise,
the borders show a burnisher smoothing
and polishing paper, a stamper creating
designs in a leather cover, a sizer trimming
the leaves of a manuscript, a woodworker
sawing a bookstand, a gilder preparing gold
leaf, and a calligrapher writing. Another
folio from this album (fig. 17), now in the
Staatsbibhothek fiir Preussicher Kulturbes-
itz. West Berlin, also depicting artisans of
a library, probably formed its facing page.-
Pasted onto the sides of the panel of callig-
raphy is an attribution to Mir Ali al-Sultani
(ca. 1 340-1420), one of the great Iranian
masters of nastaliq. The verses can be trans-
lated as follows:^

Pir-i Herat says,
"Don't eat anyone else's bread
And do not withhold your bread from anyone
And don't be afraid of being a dervish [i.e.,
poor].

Know that the Bestower is God.

Eat that which God has granted yoti, because

It will never diminish.

Consider the little one you have

Better than the much others possess.'"*

Although this piece is attributed to Mir Ah
al-Sultani, it seems much closer to the
writing of the sixteenth-century calligrapher
Mir Ali al-Husayni, whose work was
passionately collected by the Muhgals — a
practice that made them easy targets for
unscrupulous merchants. Their interest in
his work undoubtedly stems from the time
of Zahir ad-Din Muhammad Babur, the
founder of the dynasty, in whose honor Mir
Ali composed such poems as the following:

You are the leader of the century and the head of

all the Homeless,
You are the valorous Khaqan and the Khidr oj

the times.

After your writings there is no longer in the
universe

Any other compendium of ideas, O Shah of the
kingdom of letters.^

Although it is often difficult to distin-
guish between genuine and spurious works
by Mir Ali, the open, almost loose manner
of the calligraphy on this page, with its
heavy letters, is quite different from the
tight, carefully controlled writing of the
Haft Manzar (cat. no. 49) and from the
calligraphic page signed and dated by him
also in this exhibition (cat. no. 48).

1. Three major groups ofjahangir album pages and
several dispersed pages are known. The majority

of pages are in the former Imperial Library in Tehran; a
second group is now in the Staatsbibhothek fur
Preussicher Kulturbesitz, West Berlin; and a third series
was recently in a private collection in Tehran. For
more on Jahangir's albums, see Beach 1981, p. 156.

2. Fol. 1 8a is published in Ernst Kuhnel and Hermann
Goetz, Indische Buchmalereien aus dem Jahangir- Album der
Slaaisbiblioihek zu Berlin (Berlin: Scarabaeus Verlag,
1924), p. 20.

3. Z. A. Desai has noted that this verse is from the
Munajat of Abu Ismail Abdallah Ansari of Herat who
lived from 1006 to 1088. For more on this poet, see
Browne 1928, vol. 2, pp. 269-70.

4. 1 am grateful to Annemarie Schimmel of Harvard
University for her help with this translation.

5. Ahmad 1959, p. 129.

Published: Beach 1981, no. i6b; Atil 1978, no. 63.

Fig. 17. Illuminated page of calligraphy from
the Berlin Jahangir Album (assembled ca. 1608-
18). Berlin, Staatsbibliothek fur Preussicher
Kulturbesitz, fol. i8a.

144

Islamic Calligraphy 145

53 Rectangular Plaque

naskhi

Iran, i6th century

steel cut from forged sheet and pierced

height 7.8 cm (3'/i6 in); length 27.0 cm (10^16 in)

39-45

Although only a fragment of a larger piece,
this plaque is a visual tour de force. Its
composition, which consists of a scrolling
pattern of blossoms and flowers, and two
cartouches containing Arabic inscriptions in
naskhi, appears simple but is extremely
complicated. The arabesques of the scrolls,
for instance, expand and contract depending
upon the words inscribed over them. In a
similar manner the scrolling between the
cartouches is denser than it is inside them.
The result is that the inscription ("Oh
reviver of the dead/ Accord your protection
to the prince/ Verily how excellent [is] the
reviver") seems to be caught in a web of
vines and tendrils that emphasize the dy-
namic movement of the letters. The inscrip-
tion's references to death and resurrection
suggest that the plaque may have once been
used in a funerary context.

Published: Atil 1985, no. 29

146

54 Circular Ornament

naskhi

Iran, late i6th to early 17th century

steel cut from forged sheet and hammered; pierced and overlaid with gold

diameter 4.7 cm (I' Vie in)

40.9

This boldly patterned ornament is made up
of contrasts in terms ot both its colors and
its design. The brilliant gold overlays that
outline the edges of the ornament and make
up the inscription are set against the dark-
ness of the steel; the flowing naskhi charac-
ters of the Arabic inscription appear to float
against the tightly scrolhng arabesques of
the background. The inscription, "In the
name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful," known as the basmala, is a pious
invocation that could have been used in
either a secular or religious context.

Published: Atil 1985, no. 30

Islamic Calligraphy 147

55 Firman of Sultan Ahmed II

divani

Turkey, dated the I2th ofjumada II a.h. 1105 (a.d. February 8, 1694)
ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
height 164 cm (64'/2 in); width 48 cm (19 in)
Gift of the Honorable and Mrs. George McGhee
1985. 16

This hrman, or imperial edict, was issued
by Sultan Ahmed II (r. 1691-95) to Mehmed
Remi Pasha, an official ot his court. At the
top of the hrman, in the middle ot a flaming
halo of golden tendrils, is the sultan's tughra,
or monogram, which reads, "Ahmed ibn
Ibiahim Han el-Muzaffer Daima." Below
this, written in fine divani, or court, script
on a gold-sprinkled ground with alternating
passages in black and gold inks, is the text
of the firman that grants Mehmed Remi
Pasha lands in the district of Sarmin in the
province of Aleppo.' According to the
firman, Mehmed Remi Pasha possessed a
grant of income from Havin in Biga Prov-
ince worth 22,055 ^fe'^f ^nd was wounded
and crippled while in the service of the
royal court at Belgrade. The lands that he
received in this firman, which superseded
his previous grant, had an annual income of
223,180 akce, of which Mehmed Remi
Pasha was allowed to keep one hundred
thousand; the rest was to be remitted to the
royal treasury. There is a note on the firman
that Mustafa II (r. 1695-1703), Sultan
Ahmed's successor, reconhrmed the grant
in 1694-95. Although Sultan Ahmed's rule
was short, it is clear from both the quality
of the script and the drawing of his tughra
that he had access to many of the great
court artists who had worked for his prede-
cessors.

I. I am grateful to Dr. Christopher Murphy of the
Library of Congress for his translation of this docu-
ment.

detail, opposite

148

Selected Bibliography with Abbreviations

Chinese Calligraphy

Japanese Calligraphy

Ch'en Chih-mai. Chinese Calligraphers atid Their
Art. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press;
London and New York: Cambridge University
Press, 1966.

Chiang Yee. Chinese Callii;raphy: An Introduction
to Its Aesthetic and Technique. 3d rev. ed. Cam-
bridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1973.

Tseng 1971 Ecke, Tseng Yu-ho. Chinese Calligraphy. Philadel-
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Book and Art, 1971.

Fu, Shen C. Y. Traces of the Brush: Studies in
Chinese Calligraphy. New Haven, Conn.: Yale
University Art Gallery, 1977.

Fu and Nakata Fu, Shen C. Y., and Nakata Yiajiro. Obei shuzo

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Ku-kung fa-shu. 21 vols. Taipei: Kuo-li ku-kung
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Ku-kung po-wu-yuan ts'ang li-tai fa-shu hsuan-chi.
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Lawton 1973 Lawton, Thomas. Chinese Figure Painting. Wash-
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Ledderose 1979 Ledderose, Lothar. Mi Fu and the Classical Tradition
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Nakata 1983 Nakata Yujiro, ed. Chinese Calligraphy. Translated
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Shang-hai po-wu-kuan ts'ang li-tai fa-shu hsuan-chi.
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Shodd geijutsu Shodo geijutsu. 24 vols. Tokyo: Chuokoron Sha,
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Wong, Kwan S. Masterpieces of Sung and Yuan
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Addiss 1978

Fontein and
Hickman
1970

FGA 11: Japan 1974

FGA Handbook 1976

Hempel 1983
Komatsu 1981
Komatsu 1970
Kyusojin 1966

McCullough 1985

Murray 1979

NKBT

Nakata 1973

Rosenfield,
Cranston, and
Cranston 1973

Shimada 1969

Shimada,
Akiyama, and
Yamane 1979-81

Addiss, Stephen, with Kwan S. Wong. Obaku:
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Fontein, Jan, and Money Hickman. Zen Painting
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Shimizu 1983

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Ahmad 1959

Atil 1973

Atil 1975

Atil 1978

Atil, Chase, andjett
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Beach 1981

Browne 1928

Dickson and Welch
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Ettinghausen 1974

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Dickson, Martin B., and Stuart Cary Welch. The
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Schimmel 1970 Schimmel, Annemarie. Islamic Calligraphy.
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Bibliography 151

List of Names and Terms

with life, period, and regnal dates

Chinese

Pinyii

Wade-Giles

Chinese Script

Anyang

Baiyang shanren
(see Chen Shun)

Baomuzhi

Bao Shichen
(1775-1855)

bei
bi

Bo Juyi
(772-846)

Cai Yu

(ca. 1472-1541)

Cao

caoshu

Chan

Chen Daofu
(see Chen Shun)

Chen Mengjia
(191 1-1966)

Chen Shun
(1483-1544)

Cheng Nanyun
(act. 1400-1450)

Cheng Wang
(traditionally,
1 1 15-1079 B.C.)

Chu

Congyu

(see Zhang Heng)
Dao

Daoguang
(r. 1821-50)

Daozhou

Datong

dazhuan

Ding

Du Fu

(712-770)

Duhualu

An-yang

Pai-yang shan-jen

Pao-mu-chih
Pao Shih-ch'en

pei
Pi

Po Chu-i

Ts'ai Yii

Ts'ao

ts'ao-shu

Ch'an

Ch'en Tao-fu
Ch'en Meng-chia
Ch'en Shun
Ch'eng Nan-yiin
Ch'eng Wang

Chu

Ts'ung-yii
Tao

Tao-kuang

Tao-chou
Ta-t'ung
ta-chuan
Ting
Tu Fu

Tit-hna-Ui

W -4- -tL-

.1- ^

ft^ il C

il-H-l

T

152

Pinyin

Dunhuang
fangcun
fangyi
Fu

Fu Qingzhu
(see Fu Shan)

Fu Shan
( 1 607-1 684)

Fujian

Gansu

Gao Ccn

(act. mid-iyth C.)
Gao Fu

(act. mid-iyth C.)

Ge Xuan
(act. 3d C.)

Gu Kaizhi
(341-402)

Guangdong

Guangxi

guichou

Guizhou

Guo Tienxi

(ca. i235-ca.i302)

HaiHng

Han

(206 B.C.-A.D. 220)

Hangzhou

Hanlin

Hedong

He Linghan
(1772-1840)

He Shaoji
( 1 799-1 873)

He Zizhen
(see He Shaoji)

Henan (Duke)

Henan (province)

Wade-Giles

Chinese Script

Tun— huang

tang-ts'un

fang-i

Fu

Fu Ch'ing-chu

Fu Shan

Fukien

Kansu

Kao Ts'en

Kao Fu

1

Ko Hsiian

Ku K ai-chin

Kwangtung

Kwangsi

kuei-ch ou

Kweichow

-t +1-1

Kuo T'ien-hsi

Hai-Hng

Han

it

Hangchow

Han-lin

Ho-tung

Ho Ling-han

»1 it

Ho Shao-chi

Ho Tzu-chen

Honan

Honan

Pinyin

Wade-Giles

Chinese Script

Huaguang

Huaisu

(ca. 73 5-800)

Huang Gongwang
(1269-1354)

Huang Shen
(1687-1768)

Huang Tingjian
(1045-1 105)

Huang Yingpiao
(1687-1768)

Huanqlinyiini

Hunan

jiaguwen

Jiangnan

Jiangsu

Jiangxi

jiashen

Jiaxing

Jin

(317-420)
Jing Hao

(act. early loth C.)

jinshi

jinwen

Juyen

kaishu

Kangli Nao

(see Kangh Naonao)

Kangh Naonao
(1295-1345)

Kangh Zishan

(see Kangli Naonao)

Kong Rong
(153-208)

Kong Zhou
(103-163)

Kuaiji

Lanting

Hua-kuang
Huai-su

Huang Kung-wang

Huang Shen

Huang T'ing-chien

Huang Ying-p"iao

Hiiaiiq-t'iiig-ching

Hunan

chia-ku-wen

Chiang-nan

Kiangsu

Kiangsi

chia-shen

Chia-hsing

Chin

Ching Hao

chin-shih
chin-wen
Chu-yen
k'ai-shu
K'ang-li Nao

K'ang-li Nao-nao

K'ang-li Tzu-shan

K'ung Jung

K'ung Chou

K'uai-chi
Lan-t'ing

f t ^

r t

Names and Terms 15 3

Pinyin

Wade-Giles

Chinese Script

Pinyin

Lantitig xu
Laozi

(act. 6th C. B.C.)

Li Chang
( I 027-1 090)

Li GongUn
(1049-1 106)

Li Peng

(ca. 1060-1110)

Li Shanglao
(see Li Peng)

Li Si

(d. 208 B.C.)

Li Yangbing
(act. 759-80)

Li Yingzhen
(1431-1493)

Li Yiru

(ca. 330-379)

Li Yung
(673-747)

Li Ziho
(act. ca. 1750)

Li Ziming
(see Li Ziho)

Lianfu

(see Yang Weizhen)
Linji [J:Rinzai]
Hshu

Liu Gongquan
(778-865)

Loyang

Lu

liishi

Ml Fu

(1051-1 107)

Min
Ming

(1368-1644)
Ming Bao

Lan-t'ing hsii
Lao-tzu

Li Ch'ang

Li Kung-hn

Li P'eng

Li Shang-lao

Li Szu

Li Yang-ping
Li Ying-chen

Li I

-ju

Li Yung

Li Tzu-ho

Li Tzu-ming

Lien-fu

Lin-chi
H-shu

Liu Kung-ch'iian

Loyang
Lii

lii-shih
Ml Fu

Min
Ming

Ming Pao

f a.

Muan Xiangtao
[JiMokuan Shoto]
(1611-1684)

Nanjing

Ni Zan
(1301-1374)

Nie

Ouyang Xun
(557-641)

Pengze

Qianlong
(r. 1736-95)

Qin

(221-207 B.C.)

Qing

(1644-1911)

Qingteng

Qufu

Sanxitang

Shandong

Shang

(ca. 1523-1028 B.C.)

Shangguan Zhou
(1665-ca. 1749)

Shanxi

Shaoxing

Shen Zhou
( 1 427-1 509)

Shengjiao xu

Shitao

( I 642-1 707)

Shundi, Emperor

Sichuan

Song

(960-1279)
Songfeng
Songjiang
Songxue

(see Zhao Mengfu)

Wade-Giles

Chinese Script

^4u— an Flsiang— t ao

^ li. iiul

Nanking

Ni Tsan

Nieh

ih

Ou-yang Hsiin

P'eng-tse

Ch'ien-lung

Ch'in

Ch'ing

Ch'ing-t'eng

Ch*ii-fu

^ J-

Saii-hsi-t'ang

Shantung

Shang

%

Shang-kuan Chou

Shansi

Shao-hsing

Shen Chou

Sheng-chiao hsii

Shih-t'ao

Shun-ti

ml f

Szechwan

Sung

Sung-feng

Sung-chiang

Sung-hsiieh

154

Pinyin

Wade-Giles

Chinese Script

Pinyin

Wade-Giles

Chinese Script

Su Shi
(1036-1 lOl)

Sui

(581-618)

Su Shih

Sui

Suijinggong daoren Sui-ching-kung tao-jen /j^^^^'S^^

Sun Shouyong
(act. ca.1225)

Suzhou

Tang
(618-907)

Tang Taizong, Emperor
(r. 626-49)

Tang Yin
(1470-1523)

Tao Qian
(365-427)

Tianfa Shencan

Tianli

(1328-30)

tie

Tieti daoren

(see Yang Weizhen)

Tieyai

(see Yang Weizhen)

Tingzhou

Wang Bangxiang
(act. ca. 1500)

Wang Chong
(1494-153 3)

Wang Mcng
(ca. 1301-1385)

Wang Shouren
(1472-1529)

Wang Yangming
(see Wang Shouren)

Wang Xienzhi
(344-386)

Wang Xizhi
(ca. 303-ca. 361)

Wen Bi

(see Wen Zhengming)

Sun Shou-yung

Soochow
T'ang

T'ang T'ai-tsung

T'ang Yin

T'ao Ch'ien

T'ien-fa Shen-ts'an
T'ien-li

t'ieh

T'ieh-t'i tao-jen

T'ieh-yai

T'ing-chou
Wang Pang-hsiang

Wang Ch'ung

Wang Meng

Wang Shou-jen

Wang Yang-ming

Wang Hsien-chih

Wang Hsi-chih

Wen Pi

m if-

iT -Hi

i t >^

Wen Tong
(1018-1079)

Wen Zhengming
(1470-1559)

wenren

Wu

(220-280)

Wu Changshuo
(1844-1927)

Wu Kuan
(1435-1504)

Wu Rangzhi

(see Wu Tingyang)

Wu Tingyang
( I 799-1 879)

Wu Xizai

(see Wu Tingyang)

Wu Zhen
(1280-1354)

Wuxing

Xia Chang
(1 388-1470)

Xiao

xiaozhuan
Xin

xingshu

Xu Chunfu

(act. early 20th C.)

Xu Sangeng
(I 806-1 890)

Xu Wei

(1521-1593)

Xu Zhenqing
(1479-1511)

Yang Ningshi
(873-954)

Yang Weizhen
(1296-1370)

Yangzhou

Yangming

Yangzi

Wen T'ung

Wen Cheng-ming

wen-jen
Wu

Wu Ch'ang-shuo

Wu K'uan

Wu Jang-chih

Wu T'ing-yang

Wu Hsi-tsai

Wu Chen

Wu-hsing
Hsia Ch'ang

Hsiao

hsiao-chuan
Hsin

hsing-shu
Hsii Ch'un-fu

Hsu San-keng

Hsu Wei

Hsii Chen-ch'ing

Yang Ning-shih

Yang Wei-chen

Yangchow
Yang-ming
Yangtze River

^ a A]\

^ t% ik

Names atld Tewis 155

Pinyin

Wade-Giles

\/ '-71 ^ -

Yen Znenqing

(709-785)

Yen Chen-ch'ing

Yi

I

Yishan

I-shan

Yizheng

I-cheng

Yonglo, Emperor
(r. 1403-24)

Yung-lo

Yuan

(1279-1368)

Yuan

Yuan Yuzhi
( I 499-1 576)

Yiian Yii-chih

Yuansou

Yiian-sou

Yuyao

Yii-yao

Zhang Heng
(1914-1963)

Chang Heng

Zhang Jizhi
(1166-1286)

Chang Chi-chih

Zhang Zhiho
(act. 8th C.)

Chang Chih-ho

zhangcao

chang-ts'ao

Zhao Mengfu
(1254-1322)

Chao Meng-fu

Zhao Wang

/ /^J ^ TV/ \

(see Cheng Wang)

Chao Wang

Zhao Wenmin
(sec Zhao Mengfu)

Chao Wcn-min

Zhao Zhiqian
(i 829-1 884)

Chao Chi-ch'ien

Zhejiang

Chekiang

Zhengtong
(r. 1436-49)

Cheng-t'ung

Zhenjiang

Chen-chiang

Zhizheng
(r. 1341-68)

Chih-cheng

zhongdingwcn

chung-ting-wen

Zhou

(ca. 1027-221 B.C.)

Chou

Zhou Lianggong
(161 2-1672)

Chou Liang-kunj

Zhou Mi
(1232-1298)

Chou Mi

Chinese Script

Pinyin

Wade-Giles

Chinese Script

J; ^'^f

f

4r<

Zhu Hanzhi

(act. mid-i7th C.)

Zhu Yunming
(1461-1527)

zhuanshu

Zhuda

( 1 624-1 705)

Zhuge

Zhuyi daoren
(see Fu Shan)

Ziang

(see Zhao Mengfu)

Zou Fulei

(ca. 1300-ca. 1360)

Zou Fuyuan

(ca. 1300-ca. 1360)

Chu Han-chih

Chu Yiin-ming

chuan-shu
Chu Ta

Chu-ko
Chu-i Tao-jen

tzu

Tzu-ang
Tsou Fu-lei
Tsou Fu-yiian

If t

156

Japanese

agedatami

Bishamon-ten

bokuseki

bunjin

Daitoku-ji

Edo

(1615-1868)
Eiga taigai
fude
Fugen
Fujiwara

Fujiwara no Ariie
(1155-1216)

Fujiwara no Kinto
(996-1041)

Fujiwara no Kozei

(see Fujiwara no Yukinari)

Fujiwara no Nobuzane
(ii76?-i265?)

Fujiwara no Sadaie
(see Fujiwara no Teika)

Fujiwara no Sadanobu
(1088-1156)

Fujiwara no Shunzei
(i 1 14-1204)

Fujiwara no Tamcie
(i 198-1275)

Fujiwara no Teika
(i 162-1241)

Fujiwara no Yoshitsune
(i 169-1241)

Fujiwara no Yukinari

(972-1027)

Fushimi, Emperor
(1265-13 17, r. 1287-98)

fusuma

gampishi

Gion Nankai
(1677-1751)

Gomizunoo, Emperor
(1596-1680, r. 1611-29)

p1 & 1^1 ^

^> ^ '1^

m 'L iK

Names and Terms 157

Gonara, Emperor

it ^> k K 'i.

(1496-1557, r. 1526-57)

Gosen wakashu (Gosenshii)

gyosho

Hachisuka

Hayashi Kazan
(1583-1657)

Heian

(794-1185)

Heian-ky5

hiragana

Hokke-kyo

vi M it

Hon'ami K5etsu
(1558-1637)

f5[- lif. ^

Igarashi

^ + I.

Ishikawa

^ nl

Ishiyama-gire

Jitsuin

(act. ca. mid-i3th C.)

t *f

J66

(1652-55)

Kaga

kaishi

kaisho

Kamakura
(1185-1333)

kambun

it ^

Kan'ei
(1624-44)

Kan ci Sampitsu

Kan-Fugen-bosatsu-gydbd-kyo

kana

kanji

kasen-e

Kasuga

katakana ■ 1 .

if liL/.

keman

# t

Kenzan
(1663-1743)

Kii

it if

Ki no Tsurayuki
(872?-ca.946)

Koetsu

(see Hon'ami Koetsu)

Kogetsu Sogan

(1574-1643)

Kojima S5shin
(i 580-ca. 1656)

Kokin wakashu {Kokinshii)

Konoe Nobutada

iff ftt f't

Korin

(1658-1716)

Koriyama

Koya-gire

y%J *T

Kozei

(see Fujiwara no Yukinari)

fx K

Kyoto

t #

Mampuku-ji

Man 'yoshii

Masatsune

(act. early 17th C.)

Matsuki Bunkyo

( 1 867-1 940)

Memyo bosatsu

dera

(see also Onj5-ji)

' Ji- -i-

mikaeshi-e

^ ^

mikkyo

It

Minamoto no Kintada

(d. 948)

Mokuan Shoto [C: Muan Xingtao]

;f 'fi

(1611-1684)

Momoyama
(1573-1615)

moriage

Muromachi
(1392-1573)

Muryogi-kyo

Myoho-renge-kyo

158

Nankai

(see Gion Nankai)

sosho

suzuribako

Nara

Takagamine

nezame

tanka

Nishi Hongan-ji

Tanomura Chikuden

Nobutada

(see Konoe Nobutada)

la f

(1777-1835)

tanzaku

v-/uais.u

tarashikonii

Obaku Mokuan [C: Huangbo Muan]

(see Mokuan Shoto)

tatami

Ogata Soken

Tawaraya Sotatsu

(1621-1687)

(act. ca. 1600-1640)

Oita

Tempo

Onakatomi no Yorimoto
(885-957)

tensho

Onj6-ji

tetteki [C:tiedi]

(see also Mii-dera)

Tetsuo Giko

Osaka

(1295-1369)
tokonoma

reisho

Tokugawa

Rinzai [C: Linji]

(1615-1868)

Saigu no Nyogo
(929-985)

Tokugawa Hidetada
(1579-1632)

Saigyo

Tokugawa lemitsu

(i 1 18-1206)

(1604-1651)

Sanjiirokkasen

T6shodai-ji

Sanjurokunin-shii

^ ^ ^^#r

tsugigami

Sanmyaku-in

Tsurayuki-shii

Seson-ji

uta-e

shikishi

uta-awase

Shin kokiti wakashu

waka

Shokado Shojo
(1584-1639)

Wakan roeishil

Shoren-in

Wakayama

wayo

Shuho Myocho
(1282-1337)

Yakuo bosatsu

Shui wakashu

Yakushi Nyorai

shuji

it ^

Zen [C:Chan]

sogana

Soshin

(act. ca. 1830)

37 ii 27

•J.

ik- 'il

Names and Terms 159

Arabic, Persian, and Turkish

Catalogue

Encyclopedia of Islam

Abbasid

Abd al-Aziz Bahadur
Khan

(r. 1534-39)

Abd al-Mahk

(r. 685-705)

Abdallah Jami
(d. 1520-21)

Abu Ismail Abdallah

Ansari

(1006-1088)

'Abbasid

'Abd al-'AzTz Bahadur
Khan

'Abd al-Mahk
'Abdallah Djami

Abu Isma'il 'Abdallah
Ansari

Abdur Rahman Jami 'Abd al-Rahman Djami

Ahmad ibn Muhammad
ibn Ahmad Asid

Ahmed ibn Ibrahim
Han el-MuzafFer Daima
(r. 1691-95)

Aishi ibn Ishrati

Ah

Ali ibn al-Husain

Ali ibn al-Muhammad

Ali ibn al-Musa

Ali ibn Musa al-Riza
(d. 818)

al-kuti al-baghdadi

al-kufi al-farisi

al-Malik al-Mujahid

Sayf ad-Din Ali ibn

Dawud

(r. 1322-63)

al-Malik al-Zahir
Shadhi

al-Muqtadir

(r. 908-32)

al-Nasir Muhammad
(r. 1294-95; 1299-1309;
1309-40)

al-Qahir
(r. 932-34)

al-Radi
(r. 934-40)

Ahmad ibn Muhammad
ibn Ahmad AsTd

Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-

MuzafFar

'A'ishT ibn IshratT
'All

'All ibn al-Husayn
'All ibn al-Muhmmad
'Ah ibn al-Musa
'Ah ibn Musa al-Rida

al-kufi al baghdadi
al-kufi al-farisi

f Malik al-Mu^ahld ,;,<,;j;^J^^^J^J^\

Saif al-Din 'AllTbn
Dawud

al-Malik al-Zahir
Shadhi

al-Muktadir

al-Nasir Muhammad

al-Qahir
al-Radi

Allah

Allah

4a 1

160

Catalogue

Encyclopedia of Islam

Catalogue

Encyclopedia of Islam

Badr al-Din Lulu
(d. 1259)

Baghdad

Bahram Mirza
(i 507-1 549)

basmala

Baysunghur

Biga

Bihzad

(d. 1536-37)

Bukhara

Daulatkhana

Delhi

divani

Fatima

Fatima bint Zaid

Fatimid

firman

ghubar

Haft Awraiig^

Ha ft Manzar

hamza

Hasan

Hatifi

(see Abdaliah Jami)

Havin

Herat

Husain

ibn al-Bawwab
(d. 1022)

ibn Muqla
(d. 940)

Ikhtiyar al-Munshi al-
Sultani

(see Kamal al-Din)

il-Khanid

(1256-1333)

Badr al-Din Lu^ Lu'

Baghdad
Bahram Mirza

basmala
Baysunghur
bigha
Bihzad

Bukhara

Dawlatkhana

DihlT

diwani

Fatima

Fatima bint Zaid

Fatimid

farman

ghubar

Haft Awvang

Haft Manzar

hamza

Hasan

HatifT

Havin
Harat
Husayn

ibn al-Bawwab

ibn Mukla

Ikhtiyar al-Munshi'
aT^ultani

ilkhanid

Iran
Isfahan

Iskandar Mirza
(1384-1415)

Istanbul

Jafar al-Tabrizi
(act. 1421-33)

Jafar ibn Muhammad

Jahangir

(r. 1605-27)

Junaid ibn Ammar al-
Ala

Kamal al-Din
(d. 1556-57)

Khamsa

Khaqan

Khidr

Khorasan

Khusrau u Shiriii

kitabkhana

kufic

maghribi

Mahdi

mail

Majd al-Mulk al-

Muzalfar

(d. 1221)

Malik al-Dailami
(d. 1561-62)

Mamluk
(1250-1517)

Mashhad

Masjid-i Shah

Maulana Abdi
(d. aft. 1540?)

Mehmed Remi Pasha

Mir All

(see Mir Ali al-Husayni)

Iran
Isfahan

Iskandar Mirza
Istanbul

Dja'^tar al-Tabrizi

DjaYar ibn Muhammad
Djahangir

Djunayd ibn Ammar
^^Ala'

Kamal al-DTn

Khamsa

Khaqan

Khidr

Khurasan

Khtisraw u Shiriii

kitabkhana

kutlc

maghribi

MahdT

ma'il

Madjd al-Mulk al-
Muzaffar

Malik al-Daylami

Mamluk

Mcshhed
Masdjid-i Shah
Mawlana 'Abdi

Mehmed Rcmi Pasha
Mir 'Ah

--^

Names and Terms 161

Catalogue

Encyclopedia of Islam

Catalogue

Encyclopedia of Islam

Mir Ali al-Husayni
(d. 1556)

Mir All al-Tabrizi
(ca. 1 340-1 420)

Mir Ali ibn Hasan al-
Sultani

(see Mir All al-Tabrizi)

Mirza All
(d. aft. 1560)

Mirza Khwajagi

Mughal

Muhammad

Muhammad ibn Ali

muhaqqaq

Muhibb Ali
(d. aft. 1565)

Mutiajat

Mustafa II
(r. 1695-1703)

Muzaffar Ali
(d. aft. 1576-77)

naskh (or naskhi)

nastaliq

Nishapur

Nizam ad-Din Abu
Muhammad llyas
Nizami

(i 140/41-1202/3)

Nur al-Din Jahangir
(see Jahangir)

Mir 'All al-Husayni
Mir 'All al-Tabrizi

Mir "All ibn Hasan al-
Sultani

Mirza 'Ah

MTrza Khwajagi
Mughal
Muhammad
Muhammad ibn 'All
muhakkak
Muhibb 'AH

Munajat
Mustafa II

Muzaffar 'Ah

naskh
nasta 'lik
Nishapur

Nizam al-DTn Abu
Muhammad llyas
Nizami

Nur al-Din Djahangir

Qadi Ahmad

Kadi Ahmad

(d. aft. 1606)

qalam

kaiam

Qazvin

KazwTn

Qum

Kum

Qur'an

Kur'an

Ramadan

Ramadan

rang nivisi

rang-nivisi

Rasulid

Rasulid

rihan
riqa

Rustam Ali
(d. 1562-63)

Safavid

(i 501-1786)

Salim al-Katib
(d. 1582-83)

Samanid
(819-1005)

Sarmin

Shadhi ibn Muhammad
ibn Ayyub
(1281-1341/42)

Shah Ismail
(r. 1501-24)

Shah Jahan
(r. 1628-57)

Shah Mahmud al-

Nishapuri

(d. 1574-75?)

Shah Tahmasp
(1524-76)

Shahnama

Shaybanid
(i 500-1 598)

Shaykh Auhad al-Din
Nizami

(see Nizam ad-Din Abu
Muhammad llyas
Nizami)

Shaykh Hamdullah
(d. 1520)

Shaykh Muhammad
(d. aft. 1570)

Shaykh Zadch
(d. aft. 1540)

Shazi

Shi'ite

sukun

Sultan Ahmed II

(see Ahmed ibn Ibrahim

Han el-Muzaffer Daima)

rihan
rika'

Rustam 'AlT
Safawid
Salim al-Katib
Samanid

Sarmin

ShadhT ibn Muhammad
lEn Ayyub

Shah Isma'il

Shah Djahan

Shah Mahmud al-
NTshapurT

Shah Tahmasp

Shahnama
Shaybanid

Shaykh Auhad al-Din
NizamT

Shaykh Hamd Allah

Shaykh Muhammad

Shaykh Zade

Shadi
Shfte
sukijn

Sutan Ahmed

^ .1 ■ »

(1229-1454)

162

Catalogue

Encyclopedia of Islam

Sultan All

Sultan 'Ah

( I AA2—1 '\IQ)

Sultan Ibrahim Mirza
(1538-1577)

Sultan Ibrahim MTrza

Sultan Mirak

Sultan MIrak

(d. aft. 1540)

Sultan Muhammad Nur

Sultan Muhammad Nur

(d. 1533)

Sultan Ssnjsr
(r. 1 1 18-57)

Sultan Sandjar

^^-^ (jw-A ■ It

sura

siira

Tabriz

Tabriz

taliq

ta'lik

tarassul

tarassul

C%

tashdid

tashdid

tauqi

tawki'

thuluth

thuluth

Timurid

Timurid

(i ^70—1 S06)

tughra

tughra

tumar

tumar

>

Umayyad
(661-750)

Umayyad

- ^\

wasla

wasla

Yaqut al-Mustasimi
(d. 1298)

Yakut al-Musta'simi

Yemen

Yaman

Zahir ad-Din
Muhammad Babur

Zahir ad-Din
Muhammad Babur

(r. 1526-30)

zarrin qalam

zarrin kalam

Names and Tenns 163

List of Accession and Catalogue Numbers

By Catalogue Number Catalogue Number Accession Number

I

30.54

2

8i.4a,b,c,d

3

82.2

4

19. 119

5

80.7

6

80.8a

7

37-12

8

80.8b

9

31. 1

lO

16.184

II

10.6

12

82.33

13

80.21

14

80.2

15

8o.20a-b

i6

80.116

17

80.13

i8

82.7

19

80.3

20

68.60

21

74-13

22

69-4

23

50.24

24

1984-35

25

76.7

26

81. 1

27

81.16

28

03-309

29

02. 195 and 02. 196

30

76.8

31

44.22

32

81.12

33

80. 195

34

78. 1 1

35

76. 1

36

45. i6v

Catalogue Number Accession Number

37

57-24

38

48.16

39

36.7

40

29.68r-29.69-

41

45.18

42

34-20

43

38.15

44

48.9r-32.1v

45

31.29

46

37-35

47

34-17

48

48.28r

49

56.14

50

29.64

51

46. 12

52

54. ii6r

53

39-45

54

40.9

55

1985.16

164

By Accession Number

Accession Number

Catalogue Number

Accession Number Catalogue Number

02. 195 and 02. 196 29

03.309 28

10.6 II
16.184 10
19. 119 4
29.64 50
29.68r-29.69v 40
30.54 I
311 9
3129 45
3417 47
34.20 42

36.7 39
37-12 7

37- 3 5 46

38- 15 43

39- 45 53
40.9 54
44.22 31
45.16V 36
45.18 41
46.12 51
48.9r-32.1v 44
48.16 38
48.28r 48
50.24 23
54. Ii6r 52
56.14 49

57-24 37

68.60 20

69.4 22

74-13 21

76-1 35

76.7 25

76-8 30

78.11 34

80.2 14

80.3 19
80.7 5
80.8a 6
80.8b 8
80.13 17
8o.2oa-b 15
80.21 13
80.116 16
80.195 33

81. 1 26
8i.4a,b,c,d 2
81.12 32
81.16 27

82.2 3
82.7 18
82.33 12
1984.35 24
1985.16 55

Accession and Catalogue Numbers 165

Chinese and Japanese calligraphy by Shen Fu
Arabic calligraphy by Muhammad Zakariya
Typeset in Bembo by Graphic Composition, Inc.
Printed on Mohawk Superfine loo lb. text
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